Immersion is key, but classes provide the bootstrapping required to know what questions to ask, and are a tremendously useful resource when immersion is not pos

Immersion is key, but classes provide the bootstrapping required to know what questions to ask, and are a tremendously useful resource when immersion is not possible. I think the ideal learning scenario is what many of my expats-in-Japan friends undertook: live in the country and take classes at the same time. It also helps if you look foreign enough to where natives don't expect you to know their language, and are shocked when you can say even just "hello my name is..."