Learning a new programming language

Hmm... Frankly I believe that there is no ONE way to learn a new programming language in fact it differs from person to person according to their programming styles and intellect. Some like to get hands on right away and some like to read a book before they get hands on and there are some who read and write code parallely.

Personally I believe in learning by example via Unit Tests. So if I decide to learn Ruby then I would go ahead and start writing programs in Ruby by writing unit tests.
After working with JUnit and being a Java developer I have understood the importance and value of Unit testing. Unit testing is a neat way of knowing that your programs work and also it is the best form of feedback one can get about their code.

When you are learning a new language by writing unit tests you are actually building a knowledge base that you can always look back to refresh your knowledge and understanding at any given point of time. So cool aint it :)

Simply put get hold of a Pragmatic Book on a programming language of your choice and start learning by writing tests and you will find yourself at ease very soon with the new programming language.