what is a good method of learning a language?

There are "probably" several ways but in any event, one should learn from a more or less solid base.. that is.. start at the bottom and work up....

Try to buy some books with verbs, word phrases, etc and when learning.. make sure in your own mind that you WANT to learn this particular language.. Then:

Think in whole phrases and with emotions. So don't just memorize words but memorize a whole sample phrase with the evoked emotion.

try to imagine graphically the word or action you are learning.

Repeat the whole phrase or sentence until you can say it without hesitation, like a reflex

Substitute words from your new language into the language you speak normally. This will, of course, cause fewer problems if you confine this to conversations with people you have notified of your strategy. E.g. (French) To make a cheese sandwich, put fromage between deux pieces of pain.

Read the dictionary (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Page). Make it a habit to skim or browse through the dictionary and note down a few words that are obviously part of common everyday speech.

Write down new words in two columns, one for your native language and one for the language to be learned. Then go over them day after day in alternate directions and carry those words you didn't remember so far over to a new page

Ultimately, the BEST way to learn is by intensive language studies, If it is French, then actually go to a French speaking country where there are schools in learning French in an "intetnsive language" manner.. You cannot learn a language well until you can hear sounds along with the word. Rosetta Stone has CDs but they can only take you so far and I think they are somewhat expensive.. For learning Spanish, I went 2 times to a school in Honduras(There, much much cheaper than in Mexico and elsewhere)

When learning a new language, it's best to start at a young age.

You could watch TV in the language you want to learn (with subtiltes, of course), listen to talk radio, ask a friend who knows that language to help you out, listen to people speak the language, buy an English/Whatever language you want to learn dictionary, taking classes for that specific language, even reading up on the country's history helps.

If you have enough money, you can visit the country and interact with the locals.

Language learning is very complex process it depends upon your L1 that is the first language and then the complexity of the L2 i.e. the second language you want to learn gives a different face lift to the learning process. For example someone whose first language is Urdu or Arabic, might face immense difficulty in learning English, boz English is front end language whereas Urdu is a back end language, the thought process is different.

Age also plays an important role in learning of a new language, till the age of 13 a child is introduced to a new language, the learning process is easy boz the brain is ready to accept the challenge but after puberty the concentration and focus shifts from learning to physical pleasures and brain disintegrates. To learn a new language you need to enhance your vocabulary by reading magazines, newapapers, you need to listen to music and other auditory mediums for enhancing listening potentional.

A second language or foreign language learner always thinks in the first language thats the problem and due to this the reaction time is more boz second learners take time in answering, which sometimes results into loss of words and expressions. Best way is to understand the new culture, new style of living, read literature, mix up with people. Only books and theories are not gonna help, hence for learning a language you must be willing to explore all possible ways of language learning.

Take and ESL or EFL course. Or contact some linguafranca, lingo pologua.

I found that an easy way for me was to learn many songs in the language that you're attempting to learn. Select old favorites with nice melodies.
After learning the meanings of all the words, the rhyme and the melody brings those words back to your memory when needed.
Avoid " school language ". Schools insist on exact grammar.That's not the way that little kids learn their own language. Learn words, a lot of words, grammar will come in time.
Knowing a hundred words in a foreign language will enable you to get a thought across. Next, learn to conjugate " I have" and" I am".
Next, learn the past tense of common verbs. After that, the future tense.
Remember when a little kid says, " I seed a cat, or I is a good boy ". You know what he means. He'll learn to say it properly in time. Learn like the little kid learns.They master the most difficult language with no effort at all.

the best way is to stay in a rural place where everybody speak only that language.

find some gd songs in that language n sing along is also a pretty workable method.

Get a book with a tape - an introduction to the language. Read the book with the tape so that you have a general idea of what the words look like. Listen to the tape. Listen again and again - about 20 or 30 times at least. When you are fed up with that experience, shop around for a book (with accompanying tape) that is very similar but a litttle more challenging because it has slightly different or more vocabulary and phrases. Listen to it and enjoy listening to something new! Again, listen to it at least 20 or 30 times. When you get very frustrated, go back to the first tape and book and enjoy the familiarity of hearing the old stuff again. Enjoy feeling how much easier it is for you to hear now. Listen to it a few times and go back to the second tape. Get a book on Amazon that deals with verbs in the language. Start writing the verbs a lot. Do all the homework in the book. The tapes should have verbs on them so you should be able to imagine how most of the verbs sound given the patterns of the conjugations and the pronunciation you know. Use the Internet to help you if you have any questions about how to pronounce something. A lot of language websites have audio portions to help you (see about.com, for instance.)
Also, watch TV in that language if you can (Spanish or French channels might be available in your area) - if you don't understand much, at least try to get vocabulary from the commercials. Of course, you should have a good dictionary from the very first day of learning the new language!
If there is a college near you, call them up and ask them if you can audit a language class. The best thing would be to sign up and take one for credit but auditing is less stress, you keep quiet and sit in the back of the class (find out exactly what audit means from the college - sometimes, you can particpate in class, sometimes you can't). You will be able to see how much you have already learned.
Get a book of stories in the other language and start reading and taking notes with a dictionary in hand. If you are learning French, you can splurge on the video series 'French in Action' and if you are learning Spanish, try 'Destinos' on video. Look for them on eBay because they are expenisive.
Keep at it - if you give it a year or two of effort, you will make real progress. You have to keep it up. Read magazines in that language if you can find them.
Then visit a country where the language is spoken. Go there on vacation. Stay in a small hotel where everyone doesn't speak English for you.
Good luck!

the best method for me would to take at least two levels of beginner's classes in that language at home, and then learn the rest when you get to the country in which it is widely spoken. makle sure though that the classes that you take at home don't just concentrate on formal language, you have to know and understand their 'street language,' as well.

join language school

Find someone who speaks it to help you when you have troubles or to simply converse with. I found a good start is a class in a school, but if you don't have the means. Try your local library. They have books on tape that come with texts to help you with atleast the speaking part. There are many free websites too, that will help out. Do a search for whichever language you are aiming to learn. Good luck!

watching a tv channel that is in that language. or radio or something )