Total immersion is generally accepted as the best way to integrate a language into your skillset. That’s how we learned our first language after all, having it be a part of our lives from the moment we can first make out sounds.
When undergoing an immersion experience for language learning, the best setting is obviously to be thrown into a foreign country. Relocated to a place where the main vernacular is the target language, learning tends to happen very fast, especially when its crucial to being able to function on a day-to-day basis.
Most of us who undertake language learning (whether with a language software or formal classes), however, are not going to be able to have that kind of experience. In fact, many of us study a foreign language in order to have the chance to be able to live in a foreign country (i.e. studying French so you can find placement with a Paris-based office).
Local Immersion
Despite total immersion being an unlikely scenario, there are still many ways to arrange your affairs such that you can mimic the experience as closely as possible. Even within your home and immediate community, you can immerse yourself in the object of your study.
Find pockets of community within your immediate vicinity that speak the language you hope to learn and find a way to integrate yourself there. In many cities worldwide, there are almost always churches, clubs, consulate-affiliated organizations, hobby groups or professional organizations that cater to a specific nationality – find them and get in touch.
Most of these groups will either know or run language learning sessions. They’ve also been known to be very welcoming of outsiders trying to gain familiarity with the language. If you’ve got honest intentions and sensibly state your case, few will ever turn you down.