I've been thinking about that for quite some time, especially when I compare my English and Italian and the way I approach them. I learned English over the years spent browsing the internet, which was only a hobby. My mother taught me the basic words like dog, cat, apple etc. Me and my friend would chat in very poor English at the beginning, but we did it just for fun. Nobody heard us speak, nobody read our chats, we talked about our interests switching between native language and English because why not?

I watched movies subbed in English because why not. When I was 5 I watched Cartoon Network for the animation and heard Gibberish. Give it another 5 years and I understood every single word. I played video games with both dubs and subs in English because I couldn't find them in L1.

As for Italian that I am learning now? Had it for 4 years in school, learned only pronunciation and memorized the verb essere that I had to recite in order to use it (until recently when I began learning it on my own). Am devoting at least 2 hours each day of Duolingo. I'd say that's about it. Sure, I can form basic sentences like a man has a hat and it's green, but can I order a coffee? Can I express an opinion? Can I write about a subject i.e. can I discuss politics or my interests?

Hint: no.

Now why am I annoyed? Well, partly because I'm spending time on something and not getting good results and the other part is why I began writing this comment in the first place. You see, I'm somewhere at the middle of the path between ''I watched cartoons and heard Gibberish'' and ''I watched cartoons and I could comprehend at least 60% of what's being said''. With English it took at least 5 years to get to there because I didn't do it with an intention to learn a language but to spend free time and entertain myself. I wasted 4 already in school.

I don't have anyone to speak to in Italian, one of my friends is learning Dutch (also via Duolingo) and one of them German (via flashcards and translation). I can speak to myself which I already do in English so it doesn't feel weird or foreign to me.

All I'm asking is what is the process behind that ''communication''. How do I learn a language that's not a method by memorization. I can't magically find someone and speak to them a few sentences because I cannot form one let alone hold a conversation.