Stage 3: Listening, writing and reading work

Use Anki, a free flashcard program that runs on smartphones and every computer platform, to practice thinking in the language directly.

Once you have a decent vocabulary and familiarity with grammar, you can start writing essays, watching TV shows and reading books, and talking (at least to yourself!) about the stuff that you see and do. Every writing correction gets added to the Anki deck, which continues to build your vocab and grammar.