Ani wrote:... what does it look like NOT to leave one's comfort zone? Where does the line between efficiency and sloppiness fall, in your opinion? How can we avoid errors on either side of the spectrum?
I can't address efficiency as I am probably the least efficient member of the forum. I don't count hours, pages or words. I don't use srs, LWT or memrise. I'll default to others who do who can give you that answer.
As to what it looks like NOT to leave one's comfort zone, I've seen this a lot over the years on the forum, people who stay in comfort zones too long. It usually involves not wanting to wade into native material (and also speaking/writing) and staying with courses, srs and learner-based material instead as the primary interaction with the language. The result is that they stay in a low intermediate level and do not advance their skills. It can happen for a variety of reasons- not knowing how to progress without a framework that a course provides; fear of missing something which comes from not trusting their own abilities to figure out things on their own; perfectionism; and, indeed, not wanting to leave the comfort zone. People who don't leave the comfort zone are often frustrated by this choice and stagnate without advancing. They also know this.
I've seen people post on the forum about their frustration with understanding native TV- something along the lines of "I have no trouble speaking in conversations but I can't understand a novela or film". It's not surprising. Many learners don't place nearly as much of a priority to listening as they place on courses and reading. Listening is harder in comparison to reading, whereas a basic conversation is something over which a learner has some measure of control- what to talk about, a good chance of anticipation of responses, etc., whereas when watching a film or tv show, that control is out of the learner's hands. Films' and shows' vocabulary and conversations can go anywhere. The speakers aren't going to accommodate the learner by rephrasing or repeating something. The learner won't be able to anticipate what comes next as easily.
As blaurebell points out, too much emphasis on native material can lead to gaps in learning when formal study is avoided. As with most things, a balance can be achieved between native material and study. A good foundation in grammar will serve a learner well and nothing prevents a learner from studying grammar alongside consuming native-material and speaking/writing. It's not an either/or scenario. Of course, this is part of my learning strategy with the multi-track approach. Balance between skills does
not have to be in equal parts, but all skills should be practiced to some extent. The proportions can vary greatly. Some people don't write much or speak much, or even at all, because it may not be something they are interested in doing. That's ok, a language can be experienced through reading. Of course, if someone who doesn't speak, or doesn't listen, complains about their speaking and listening skills, then... well... they have their answer about why those skills may be weak.
Recently, I felt a need to
become more complete in Ladino/Djudeo-espanyol. The language is written in several different scripts, one of which is handwritten and called Solitreo. To someone who hasn't seen it before it looks like Arabic writing. I had delayed learning it because I didn't want to suffer learning it. I knew what was involved in learning a new script and I guess I just didn't want to go through it again for so little gain. I was wrong. I already had most of the skills I needed to learn it- I knew the language already; I could read the printed Hebrew/Rashi script easily. My dread of learning it was misplaced. Sure it was hard at first, still is. Going outside of my comfort zone has allowed me to (with some struggle) read pages from a handwritten journal written by a man from Salonika, Greece from a time before his people were mostly exterminated by the Holocaust. Knowing that the author wrote this journal himself adds a certain joy in reading it. It's as if I am connected to him from that time in a very personal way. Without leaving my comfort zone, I couldn't experience this feeling.
I'm sorry I can't respond to your other questions. I am not really studying a language from scratch right now. When I was, when I noticed I needed work on something, I worked on it. Weaknesses are exposed by interaction with the language and it's speakers. They are overcome by recognition and working to resolve them.