Everybody is different, and there are certainly programs that start with conversation. Although I have used that method with one of my languages, Steve Kaufmann converted me to a different method, and I am sticking to it for now. Here is what I do:
- Up to intermediate 1: I have a couple of 1:1 lessons with a tutor just to learn the overall pronunciation pattern for the language, but primarily focus on getting vocabulary by reading books with lingq until I get to, say, intermediate 1 Avatar Help . Times to get there will vary, but it is honestly not much if you commit to it every day
- From intermediate 1 to intermediate 2: I listen to audiobooks, starting with lists of expressions, graded books, and listening to the same book in two languages (a language you master and the one you are trying to learn). Note that I keep reading using lingq here, and at this point I can read fiction, which I do for pleasure rather than for the sake of learning a language.
- From intermediate 2 on: I start speaking and writing (usually corrected by the same mentor who is pointing to my speaking mistakes). Again, I keep reading and listening every single day ā this is not difficult at all since, again, I am only reading stuff that is of interest to me.
Now, there are several reasons why I like to keep speaking only to phase III:
- It seems like magic: no kidding, you start saying words that you didnāt even know you had in you. I think Steve calls it āactivatingā the passive language you had absorbed in previous phases. I have done this a couple of times, and after very few lessons I start talking about all kinds of topics. Have you ever seen those movies where somebody had an amnesia and they suddenly realize that they can speak another language? Itās honestly kind of like that Jason Bourne thing. Now, in the first few lessons you will be pretty slow, but speed will pick up soon once you activate some key verbs, expressions, connectors, etc.
- It is incredibly fast: specially if you go through phases 1 and 2 fast (read every single day, listen to books every single day), you will get to the speaking stage in no time
- You donāt feel like struggling: when I tried the speak first method, I always felt bad because I couldnāt say what I wanted and had to be restricted to the āthe book is on the tableā kind of sentence ā hmm, if you didnāt have English as a second language in traditional schools this ābook on the tableā thing might not make much sense hahaha, but think about something meaningless and silly, only meant to get you to say whatever in another language. In contrast, with the method above you can be describing books, telling jokes, and expressing your opinions in a fairly short amount of time.
Now, Iāve used this methods for two languages already, and now that I am about to use it for a third I simply canāt wait to have that feeling of having the language literally being āsummonedā from somewhere in my brain, with words coming out of my mouth that I didnāt know I knew. Seriously, itās an addictive experience.