Time devoted + Learning method + Learning material + Person = Ultimate fluency in the language? Now, listen and repeat after me three times. Loudly and clearly! I would attribute more weight to the "Person" than other factors from the formula for success. SMART is an excellent guiding tool for tracking your progress: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Task 1: Learning abbreviations from the ads in the newspaper How hard is it to learn the shorter version of words from a compiled list by rote memorization? The good question is, would an average English speaker need help understanding the message from a 2x2 ad? Of course not. Let's not imagine but just stating that you'll be kicked out of your house if you don't find a job in a week. Your very livelihood depends on your action, and I dare you to pick up the phone and call the numbers from the paper. You would say: "I am not Benny Lewis, and sleeping on the street might be better than being mortified." A position editing classified ads might suit you well; all you have to do is beating the deadline with some hand on practice—a whole different perspective. Task 2: Grocery list Let's think of a scenario in which you're in charge of a birthday party instead of memorizing a simple shopping list over the weekend. You'll be responsible not only for shopping but also cooking with your recipe as well. A Herculean feat might be, but it's certainly doable with some pre-planning, and it will even be better if you check out the online coupons first. So basically, I recommend learning with a sense of urgency with a goal or an ability in the language to be acquired comparable to native speakers. Lastly, I recommend the book Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, which pertains to the "Person" in the formula. What do you make of the equation above? Which is most important and why?