Immersion can be very valuable once you learn the language to a serviceable extent.
I learnt German formally till the A2 level, and used to be able to speak in grammatically correct sentences, albeit with a limited vocabulary, no nuance and an obvious accent. (I'd say at 6 year old native speakers level)
Since then however, I haven't been around anyone familiar with the language, and now I am back to knowing nearly nothing (5 years since)
It becomes very easy to get learning new words, when 80% of the words in most sentences are familiar. You can piece the rest together.
Also, people are willing to tolerate having conversation with you in the language, if they speak it natively and the conversation is short + simple. Reception and billing counter interactions are perfect for this.
Immersion can also be very valuable when languages are closely related. I have learnt other Indian languages through immersion, because they closely resembled my native language. Again, because the grammatical structure and vocabulary had major overlaps.
I do however, fully agree with hiring a personal tutor, at least for the initial few months. Duolingo can help you with only so much.
I learnt German formally till the A2 level, and used to be able to speak in grammatically correct sentences, albeit with a limited vocabulary, no nuance and an obvious accent. (I'd say at 6 year old native speakers level)
Since then however, I haven't been around anyone familiar with the language, and now I am back to knowing nearly nothing (5 years since)
It becomes very easy to get learning new words, when 80% of the words in most sentences are familiar. You can piece the rest together. Also, people are willing to tolerate having conversation with you in the language, if they speak it natively and the conversation is short + simple. Reception and billing counter interactions are perfect for this.
Immersion can also be very valuable when languages are closely related. I have learnt other Indian languages through immersion, because they closely resembled my native language. Again, because the grammatical structure and vocabulary had major overlaps.
I do however, fully agree with hiring a personal tutor, at least for the initial few months. Duolingo can help you with only so much.