[wushupork]

At different points of my life I spoke Thai, Malay, Italian, French and a teeny bit of Mandarin. I would say the ones I became extremely fluent with were the result of total immersion (living in that country - being fully immersed in it for years).

I've known expats who go to Thailand, live in western communities, associate with other westerners mostly speaking English and deal with locals mostly on a limited level don't get very far. I've also met foreigners who come to live among locals in local neighborhoods and interact with the locals on a daily basis get very good at the language.

I don't think there's any way around it.