What's the most important factor when it comes to learning a language? Reading? Writing? Grammar? Speaking?

All of these are important of course. But the most important factor in learning English efficiently in my opinion is motivation. You could be doing all the right things such as watching English movies or studying textbooks, but without motivation you won't really go very far. It's very easy to become demotivated.

I would like to share a real story.

I once had a student who was a total beginner and knew very little English. He didn't really learn much English in high school and never felt very confident about his English. The traditional education system probably didn't suit him. I think this is probably very common in many Asian countries.

Although he wasn't very confident in English he was passionate about many other things. He loved collecting American antiques and other interesting items. He dreamt of opening his own store one day. That was his passion. He also enjoyed reading fictions, that was another passion of his.

By combining his passions with learning, his English improved dramatically. How did he do that?

Because he needed to import items from the US for his store, he needed to use English to communicate with the suppliers. It was necessary. That gave him a lot of motivation to improve his English. He also loved reading fictions. Reading is one of the best ways to learn English. Through reading, his grammar and vocabulary improved dramatically. Naturally, he became more confident in English. A few years later he successfully opened his own store and started doing business with his American suppliers on a regular basis.

Motivation is a very powerful thing. It will make a lot of difference.

What is your passion? Why do you want to learn English? Do you really need to learn English? These are some questions you should ask yourself when you are learning English. The clearer you are about your motivation, the more efficient and successful it will be for your learning.

I hope this helped. Good luck everyone!