Mix up the skills

What do I mean by 'mixing up the skills'?

Simply to do two or more of reading, listening, writing, and speaking at once. You could also throw other skills in there--sing, summarize, draw . . . the sky's the limit.

Why do I say that?

Because the brain becomes stimulated when you use many of its areas simultaneously. And then it learns better. Think of it as the beauty of multi-tasking. 

If I read and listen to the same text in German, I understand more of the language than if I did either alone. There's stuff I recognize listening that I wouldn't just by reading. There's stuff I recognize listening that I wouldn't just by listening.

Using Venn diagrams it's A union B. (Not their intersection).

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Here's what's important for you (me) to know. In fact, it's crucial. 

You don't need to study a language. You don't do it like other school subjects. You leave it up to your brain to sort out automatically.

Stay out of the brain's way! Just feed it with nice (enjoyable, understandable) input and sit back.

All those declension tables in Latin, and the grammar-translation method plus vocabulary lists in French put you completely onto the wrong track!

Remember how much better it went later with German and those 20-minute episodes?