Feb 20, 2015 - 11:40 AM
In the spanish latin america set, Sonia says that you should take a break from learning. I did not at the beginning, I was doing one lesson a day, and at one point I was so confused I thought I could never make it. I took a break, not willingly, but because it was getting too complicated. Then I came back, fresh, and things were much easier. From that point, I took two days off learning each week, and I completed the last level with no issue at all.
I am absolutely 100% for adding other resources, not because Fluenz is not good, but because other perspectives help. I think Fluenz should be your first method, because it's top notch for giving you a strong foundation. Then I would add duolingo for vocabulary, pimsleur for pronounciation, michel thomas for advanced grammar. I would use Assimil only if you combine it with something like Anki and grammar books and spend about 3 hours on each lesson. Assimil is great if you have a lot of time and you are strict about your learning, otherwise it's a waste of time. Polyglots love it, but it only works because they spend a huge amount of time per day learning. Rosetta stone, um.. don't even.. :)
Watch TV in french if you can, or online. Get yourself a good grammar book as well, grammar is not boring, it's the foundation of the language, make it a discovery and a learning experience.
Once you have reached a certain level, then you can join conversation mates online. I personally chose to join a spanish conversation group in my area. I absolutely love it, because one-to-one conversation is not challenging enough to me. The group is composed of 6 students and one teacher.