This is similar for me, though with language meetups or literally just paying someone to talk with me in the language I want to learn. Nothing beats seeing the

This is similar for me, though with language meetups or literally just paying someone to talk with me in the language I want to learn. Nothing beats seeing the language used as a living thing, as a part of human behavior within a form of life. Immersion, in person, is also essential for understanding the ways that people speak in a language, all the different connotations and tricks to words. Also, jokes. Attempting to tell jokes in a 2nd language, and also getting a laugh out of people (perhaps at you, but same feeling) is really rewarding feeling. I often tell people to start trying to tell jokes in a 2nd language right away. It immediately gives you a sense of play in the language and jokes are often direct references to common human experience. In a way, a lot of jokes are universal.