Viorel Sfetea shared an interesting story about learning English. He has grown up in post-communist Romania. Despite he studied English and French in school, now he speaks only English.

The secret is cable TV that he has got in a childhood: all TV shows and movies at the time came with the original sound (and subtitles at the best). He spent 4 to 6 hours a day watching cartoons, and that is how he has learned English, he claims.

This story convinces me once again that studying formal grammar is inefficient. Much more efficient way is to immerse yourself in the language environment: read books, listen to songs, watch films, et cetera.