By completing a course have you successfully learned a language?

Question

Basically title says all. It is one of my fears that when I finish I would not have learned anything!

Answer 1

Reading the language is only a small part of the overall battle. lol It's like learning spoken languages. Sure, you can read the alphabet a million times a day, but you still have to learn to put letters together, form words, make sentences, and communicate with others. As you practice it, you become better at it until it's second nature to you.

To put it into perspective, I read through the C# reference documentation about once or so a year. In between that, I'm constantly working on something and practicing it to become better. Each time I read the C# reference, I remember something that I didn't remember from the last time, and I understand most things better than I did the year prior.

If you want to master the language, read it and then practice it consistently. The more you practice it, the better you get at it and the more you learn. I learn more from making mistakes and trial & error than I do by anything else.

Think about it like this, does someone become a great surgeon by simply reading a book on surgery? Nope. They become great by doing.

Best luck your way!