Thanks a lot Val!

I too am learning a language and sometimes get frustrated with the time it takes to master the language. Sometimes daydreaming of turning into an instant polyglot upon waking up the next day. No luck there :) In the meantime, I think you're on the right path. I've read a book that suggested that students pretend to be interpreters, to express themselves in the language they are learning by speaking and writing. In comparison to just memorizing words, writing enables you to express yourself better and helps you remember vocabulary effectively. Effectiveness and speed goes hand in hand. In addition to this, you also have to take a break so that your brain can absorb all the information. If you want, you can try the Pomodoro technique. It's also good to set a specific goal with a specific timeline. Knowing you have to finish something at a certain point in time somehow aids in speeding up the process. I hope this helps.

Excellent!!! Thanks a lot Dave!!!!. The fact I would like put this bit in the seccion of discussion. Thanks a lot!!!

I think it really depends on what you consider learning a language. Since there are a lot of moving targets and each person has their own personal goal, it's hard to quantify. For example, if you consider learning a language being able to communicate what you want at a basic level without worrying about speaking correctly or sounding natural, you can generally get there pretty quickly simply by using one of the many audio courses that are available. However, if you really want to speak a language properly without making a ton of grammar mistakes, use natural sounding structures, and be able to express yourself with varying shades of meaning, I highly doubt there is a faster way than simply getting a lot of input from a wide variety of sources such as books, news, movies, series, podcasts, radio, etc. You simply can't produce natural sounding structures when you have never seen or heard them!