I recently had a conversation with my best friend's grandmother, who floated from Cuba to Puerto Rico at the age of 27 (and 30 years later moved to Miami). At the time, to obtain work in Puerto Rico, you were required to be proficient in English. Since she didn't know any English and had less than $5 to her name, her solution was to watch television only in English, read stuff that was only published in English, and eventually she said she refused to talk to anyone if they weren't using English. After a year of this, she knew enough to get a job. Similarly, I have another friend who is part Cuban whose dad learned English by watching tons of Sesame Street and English news programs.