[BayAreaEscapee]

I'm on my third foreign language. I believe you have to have a "multi-pronged" approach.

I think the most common mistake people make is to study a lot of grammar at the beginning. Mostly at the beginning you need pronunciation and vocabulary. Grammar should come a bit later.

I use:

1. Duolingo. I also pay for it and practice my mistakes the following day to build in some time spacing for memory retention.

2. Anki (spaced repetition). I use both a frequency dictionary of flashcards from the Internet and also make a second deck with a small number my own cards

3. On-line lessons from Verbalplanet. Surprisingly affordable!

4. Occasional consumption of media in that language. (Trying to read news in that language or watching TV shows in that language.)