Much of the research from the last 30-40 years has suggested that forced/brute force memorization of a foreign language isn't terribly effective. It can work, but that doesn't mean it's the best way to do so.
There has been far greater success with extensive listening and extensive reading programs and courses, which expose students to interesting and fun materials or content that is only *slightly* higher than their current level. When you understand 80-90% of the content AND everything is interesting, you will be more engaged. Also, if you understand most everything BUT there's still 10-20% that you don't understand, you can rather effortlessly guess the meanings of many words through context. If you don't pick them up the first time, you're bound to see them again and again.
If you would like to see some of the research on this topic, I recommend starting with the research papers by Dr. Beniko Mason in Japan: http://benikomason.net/



