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In language learning, there's a point where everything just "clicks." Thinking no longer occurs in English but, rather, in the target language (for me, anyway). When I studied Spanish, it came pretty easily to me. My last year of college, I took a course on all things Don Quixote, which included reading the 1,000-plus page book. While I loved reading that book, I struggled with it. A lot of the language was antiquated and there were so many nuances to get. Fortunately, because we discussed the book so extensively in class, I believe I was able to absorb most of those nuances (I don't think it would ever be possible to get all of them). Had I not taken the class, however, I know I would have missed out on a lot of the book's subtleties.
When I studied Arabic, I didn't reach the "clicking point" before I had to put the language aside. It was difficult and, though I kept working at it, the time that was necessary to devote to it became too great and I had to put it aside.
Guiding principles: It's better to understand a few items really well than to have a satisfactory comprehension of a broad range of material (with respect to language learning), although depending on the concept, that could be arguable. [Note: I'm not sure if this last part is just notes from the class or part of my response. In either case, I agree with the message.]
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