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Before we went to Japan I got some Pimsleur lessons on CD as a result of a long ago reference by a friend.

Having studies a couple languages before I was eager to give these a try. What I loved about it was a complete disregard for grammar, rules, syntax and all the other stuff you learned in 7th grade (i.e. all the stuff you were quizzed on about 12 years after you learned to effectively communicate in your native language).

I had a great time and learned some truly functional language skills before I arrived in Japan even though I screwed up the order for my last few lessons in my iPod Shuffle for learning on the plane. My biggest regret was that the unit on learning how to ask what to call something was something I didn’t get to until late in my stay. This was due mostly to my a) not getting through my lessons entirely before I left and b) mis-ordering the lessons on my iPod Shuffle.

If you want to learn quickly how to communicate in a language. Pimsleur. It rules.