Language is to communicate
(click para la versión en Español)
You are used to do certain activities and not others.
You do not wear any clothes but the ones that fit you, those that make you look pretty and fell well.
I am sure that talking about intimate issues with a close friend or with anyone else is not the same for you.
In short, there are many things and actions you are used to, that make you sense safety and in control. It has been largely spoken that in order to grow one has to get out of that familiar area I have just mentioned.
That non-physical place is called comfort zone. Learning a new language has all to do with being able to leave that comfortability.
Suppose you want to learn English
Greetings first, the way to say hello and good bye, how to address someone you meet, and it will be different if you are talking to a friend´s friend than if you are being interviewed for a job or received by an institutional authority.
Then it will come the way of naming things, modifying nouns with their particularities, describing places, asking questions, talking about the weather and of course, being able to express yourself about the past, present and future, the tenses!
All that is a must.
You must study grammar and learn the basis of the new code that you are trying to incorporate. But once you have started doing that, a much bigger must will appear.
You must step out of your comfort zone and start talking to someone else using your newly learned language.
That is the cornerstone of any attempt to communicate using a second tongue.
Here is then my advice to you:
jump to action when it comes to learning a new language.
In other words, dare to move away of your comfort zone and start using what you have learned. You will come back wealthier to your grammar book and your classes. If not, blame on me and you just lost a day. If yes, remember who told you in the first place and keep doing it!
(Versión en Español: Zona de confort y aprendizaje de idiomas, toda una pareja)