There are two main aspects to studying a new language: learning and practice.
Learning refers to taking language lessons. When you listen to a classroom lecture, read through pages of material or sit through a language software, you’re “learning” the language.
Practice involves actual use of the language, either through speaking, listening, reading or writing. When you practice, you go beyond simply memorizing new phrases and understanding the theories behind using them. You get a feel for how those lessons are applied in the real world.
Think of learning a new language in terms of playing basketball, for instance. A coach can show you how to dribble, layup and even make a crossover. Until you play a practice game with other players, though, it’s difficult to get a realistic feel of how things are going to be in a real game.
Practice doesn’t have to involve jumping into a table full of native speakers and chatting them up. There are other ways you can get practice in. You can spend 30 minutes a day speaking the new language by yourself, for instance, pretending you’re having a conversation. There are other things: you can write your shopping lists in the target language, think in the target language and even record a spoken audio diary in the target language.
The important thing is to treat both aspects of the language training process as equals, so that you appropriate sufficient amounts of time for each them.
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