More importantly, there are signs (Jones, in progress) that successful self-study learners have sophisticated strategies to overcome the deficiencies of their course packages and of the self- study method in general. To begin with, they are likely to use not one, but several packages at the same time (e.g. a BBC course for “realistic” functional-language input and skills practice, plus an old school primer for grammar work). Many obtain comprehensible input from extensive reading, videos, etc.: and many have techniques for obtaining interactive speaking practice and feedback, such as forming “study buddy” groups of fellow learners (cf. Dickinson, 1987), contacting expatriate FL speakers (e.g. via Spanish restaurants or German churches), or using family and friends as advisors. In other words, if we are to find the key to success in self-study, we should perhaps be looking not so much at the materials as at the learners.

Brown and Perry (1991) report that a combination of visual-acoustic and semantic processing strategies appears most effective in vocabulary learning; arguably, learning by etymological metaphor unites both processing types.

Nevertheless, I soon felt that a complete switch from cognitive to naturalistic methods risked stagnation of my underlying knowledge base-a danger mentioned by Dodson (1986) and other authors in connection with (classroom) immersion methods.