Most people agree that learning the language is a good thing; in practice though, it is neither simple nor always practical, especially if you travel to a place with a rare or difficult language.

If you need Spanish, French or Chinese and an in-person class is not a practical option, the Loquella Language Tool is not a bad alternative. Based on the language programs used by the US Foreign Service Institute, the Loquella Language Tool allows you to follow lessons of the three above languages at your own pace. I’ve done a few of the Spanish lessons, and I’m not a true beginner, but I like it so far.

As a language teacher myself, I’m well aware of the benefits of an in-person class, such as personalized feedback and often fairly authentic contexts (“ask your partner about his family”) where you are under the same minor pressure you would be in the real world to listen and reply…but I know that a language class is not always an option.

If you need a language like Yoruba, Thai or Hungarian, your work is cut out for you as serious online lessons not to mention in-person classes in most of the world are thin on the ground. Equipping yourself with a phrasebook and/or dictionary may be the best you can do from home; you may be able to find Teach-Yourself guides for some languages in large bookstores or order them online.

Andrew Wahba of True Travellers Society had a great tip, especially for those cases when you are unlikely to reach a high level of local language proficiency: learn a few “crowd pleasers.”