Right now is probably the best time in history to learn a language. The sheer amount of resources available to you via the internet compared to the year 2000 is exponentially greater.
The volume of content in your target language available on youtube alone is enough to last you a lifetime. Not to mention all the channels specifically catered to teaching the language. Then the online tutoring marketplaces - you can be directly connected to a tutor from a country that speaks your language natively and remotely schedule 1:1 lessons at your convenience via video conferencing software. Plus the availability of language partner sites to practice if you're on a budget.
The biggest problem in my opinion is people struggling with self directed learning, more than anything. A college level course is likely going to be objectively worse than self directed study with targeted goals, but many people dont have a clear goal of what they're trying to achieve in their target language other than a vague sense of fluency, myself included. If your language goal is to become fluent in a language, that's a goal with no defined end in sight.
>The volume of content in your target language available on youtube alone is enough to last you a lifetime.
Not if your target language is danish. Danish YouTube somehow never evolved beyond clickbaity reaction videos and Minecraft letsplays. There are good danish YouTubers[1][2], but they present their material in english. Your best bet for danish content that won't cause acute brain rot, is probably music and film clips, or VPN'ing your way to the danish state broadcaster www.dr.dk. It's like BBC, but with more rødgrød.
> The biggest problem in my opinion is people struggling with self directed learning, more than anything.
> many people dont have a clear goal of what they're trying to achieve in their target language other than a vague sense of fluency
> If your language goal is to become fluent in a language, that's a goal with no defined end in sight
This is why I like tests that 'proof' the level (e.g. CEFR, HSK, NLPT, and so on)
It does not make anyone better and does not really proof that one can converse in the language, but for me as a learner it is a nice goal to have. I can study by myself and know what I am learning for (the test for the next level)
Fluency just comes with it imo and needs immersion and practise anyway. Practise would mean application of the things learnt before
The volume of content in your target language available on youtube alone is enough to last you a lifetime. Not to mention all the channels specifically catered to teaching the language. Then the online tutoring marketplaces - you can be directly connected to a tutor from a country that speaks your language natively and remotely schedule 1:1 lessons at your convenience via video conferencing software. Plus the availability of language partner sites to practice if you're on a budget.
The biggest problem in my opinion is people struggling with self directed learning, more than anything. A college level course is likely going to be objectively worse than self directed study with targeted goals, but many people dont have a clear goal of what they're trying to achieve in their target language other than a vague sense of fluency, myself included. If your language goal is to become fluent in a language, that's a goal with no defined end in sight.