I think classes are important for grammar and writing but the fastest way imo is immersion. Go to a place where the language is being spoken and live there for awhile.

Classroom is not very effective if you are looking for the ability to converse in another language, imho. Classrooms focus on written language, reading, grammar, etc. And the phonetics are not the same from language to language. I had four years of high school Spanish and three semesters of French, both essentially worthless although I can pick out a few words and phrases in written form. At one time I would have said my German was the best, and I just learned that through immersion -- living there for the better part of two years. But now it is the same through disuse.

When i was in school.
So to begin with it was listening and repeating comprehension.
Sometimes we'd follow a story in a book....I can still remember it was called '[i]Histoire drolles[/i] - Droll stories
I had a Teacher who made it interesting.
I came away from my first lesson knowing
how to pronounce my own name
numbers from 1 to 10.
days of the week
months of the year.

I thought that was pretty good for a first lesson !
It made me [i]want[/i] to learn more.

Grow up with an English speaking Dad and a Cantonese speaking Mum🙂🐼🥢

Duolingo isn't to bad to get you started

I think by osmosis... Being around people

Interaction with locals , friends, colleagues.

These days most of the stuff can be found online.

And practice by listening to pronounciation videos etc.

My two languages are mother tongue and the language of where I live.
Learning a language in a class is good but what really counts is speaking the language

SW 😂
You need to hang around native speakers. Watch movies, videos and news with subtitles and actively translate every word you don't understand.

You spend three weeks in the country without anyone to translate for you!

You learn the basics very quickly then!

I found DuoLingo one of the best to get started but once you have done some basics go and spend a week or more in the area

Im learning spanish via pimsler. I did german a few years ago but only remember the stuff i learned in high school.

I went to an all Irish speaking school when I was 12.
Now I teach preschool through the Irish language!

I learned English at school, but I learned a lot more by watching British television.

Lived in Italy for three months. Spoke only Italian for the last month or so

Talking with coworkers and friends that know another language.

Duolingo - It's a free app

I just have a knack for it.

I lived with a Chinese lady for about a year.

Speak with a native speaker. Often.

I try to keep up by using Duolingo and speaking with my older cousins and the uncles I have left. I originally learned from my grandparents, but when you don’t get to practice a language it can get sloppy.

I like watching videos with English subtitles but then don't ask me.

Lived in the country

I was raised bilingual and I lived in three different countries as a kid