As we’ve expounded on so many times, you can’t learn a language in isolation. Languages are a means of communication between people, and the only real way to learn it is by engaging in interactions.
Can’t you learn a language from a language learning software? Of course, you can. Using it, you can
memorize vocabulary, study grammar and learn how to construct sentences, among other things. However, having a store of words and grammatical constructs you can draw from is hardly the most important aspect of learning. Acquiring a language has more to do with developing abilities in communication and interaction, being a part of a community that speaks the vernacular. As such, you can’t ever truly learn a language on your own.
Unlike a skill like riding a bicycle that involve no outside component, other people are imperative to language learning. Language serves as a bridge for understanding. If you don’t use it to communicate, then your feedback mechanism is completely inadequate – about a 1 in 100, if you need a number to gauge just how lacking it is.
A more fitting comparison to the skill of language learning is the art of public speaking. You can practice giving out a speech for days on end in your bedroom, but your biggest progress will always happen once you leave the house and stand on a podium.
Don’t think you can work at language learning the same way you work on Math and History. Language has many nuances that you simply can’t pick up on your own. Read your phrasebooks and finish your language software lessons, but remember to go out and apply it as much you can.