Other than being dropped off on the country there are tutors that can help. I know Rosetta Stone works well. Also, there are podcasts. I’ve been listening to an Italian podcast and it’s pretty good. You can watch movies with subtitles, shows, etcWhat is the best way to learn conversational French or Spanish?
What is the best way to learn conversational French or Spanish?
All the people I know who learned the quickest have lived in a foreign country and started dating native language speakers with poor English. You just have to make sure they aren't trying to learn English from you at the same time, but don't go to Montreal or Quebec City to learn French.What is the best way to learn conversational French or Spanish?
I've heard that Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for a native English speaker to learn. Much respect.I sometimes wonder what my ability level would be if I had chosen a language like those.
but don't go to Montreal or Quebec City to learn French.
I'd get a book like
French for Reading or Spanish for Reading
and pair it with Assimil French or Assimil Spanish
And then, pretty quickly, you'll be able to supplement with newspapers (Le Monde or El Mundo) along with podcasts, etc. Duolingo is fun, but not particularly great. Same with Rosetta Stone. The Assimil series, if you use it, is quite good. But you really want to pair it with a lot of reading--newspapers or reading books in general--and listening.
Quebecois is 300 year old French from Normandy and the accent is all wrong. I learned my French in West Africa, which has its own issues, and the French French look at me with merciless pity when I randomly drop my articlesWhy?
I'd get a book like
French for Reading or Spanish for Reading
and pair it with Assimil French or Assimil Spanish
And then, pretty quickly, you'll be able to supplement with newspapers (Le Monde or El Mundo) along with podcasts, etc. Duolingo is fun, but not particularly great. Same with Rosetta Stone. The Assimil series, if you use it, is quite good. But you really want to pair it with a lot of reading--newspapers or reading books in general--and listening.
You get to conversational by having a wide vocabulary. Reading gets you a wider vocabulary.Last word of your post is the key for the OP's "conversational" request.
Reading and writing only get you so far. Hearing the language spoke with the tempo, inflections, cadence and word combinations can only be done by listening and speaking.
I want to do it without having to read, and with as little effort as possible. Maybe I'll just watch Dora.