Great (and true) points. I like to think of the process as one might think of exercising a part of the body, in that one shouldn't let the muscles get used to j

Great (and true) points. I like to think of the process as one might think of exercising a part of the body, in that one shouldn't let the muscles get used to just one method. When people ask me what's the best method to learning a foreign language, I say 'do them all'. I also advocate for the 'translate word by word' technique and to realize what you can do alone (reading, writing, listening) should be better than what you can do with someone else present (speaking). In other words, work on what you can, when you can. Small steps, consistency and not giving up are also key factors.