the flaws of language submersion?

In this article, Antonio Groceffo - a self-proclaimed language "expert" - disparages language submersion as "the worst possible way to learn a language." His tone is highly arrogant and condescending at times, but I will attempt to look past his enormous ego to examine his key argument about the best way to go about learning a new language.

Language "submersion" is essentially the act of placing an individual in an environment in which a certain language is spoken without giving him/her any teaching in that language. Essentially, it is like teaching someone how to read by throwing Don Quixote at him and expecting him to learn. Certainly, one can see that there are inherent flaws in this system, which may validate the claims Groceffo makes in his editorial. However, while this task is monumental, it is certainly not impossible. When the Dutch first made contact with Japan in the early 17th century, Japanese scholars learned to speak Dutch simply by listening to and attempting to communicate with the foreigners - no textbooks, flash cards, or language classes involved. Nevertheless, one can expect that such a method of learning a language - without any prior experience - can certainly be a difficult task.

Yet at the same time, the language learning methods that Groceffo seems to support, that is traditional classroom learning, isn't exactly the best way to go about learning a language either. Groceffo concedes this fact himself, whether intentionally or unintentionally, when he mentions that some individuals graduate with an advanced degree in a foreign language without achieving native-level fluency. I believe Groceffo discounts the value of language immersion and the importance of speaking with native-language speakers.

If simply talking to people who speak a certain language is such a bad idea, how did we learn our first languages to begin with? When I was a baby, my parents certainly didn't enroll me in English-language classes before I could start to talk. Instead, I learned English through the exact same methods that Groceffo completely disregards: language submersion. Certain software programs, namely the Rosetta Stone, have recognized this as an excellent method of learning a language and have applied this process to their products. Perhaps language submersion isn't that bad of an idea afterall.