@elilla Can vouch for these methods, they work like a charm!

Language courses make a lot of sense for me as I want to start off with a good feel for grammar and become a decent writer.
These have provided me with a functional understanding of the language and allowed me to judge whether my sentences are correct on not. They also jumpstart good pronounciation.

Then I try to find uses for the language like you describe. My most basic Warrior Cats is a silly blender ad dubbed into a bunch of languages where they talk about vegetables and count to ten. Setting all my video games to the target language is fun as well. From there I try to find anything that interests me and wasn't translated, as a treat.
This has been great for building my vocabulary and listening skills, especially when it comes to regional accents / dialects.

Texting or talking to native speakers has helped me build sentences FAST and has really grown my confidence. Plus I get to request stuff like: "Let's find synonyms for this boring word!"