Languages when you travel

Learning a language different form your own can be a very touchy isse.
Some of us took a foreign language in school, and dort of managed to pass the class, but would it hold up during travel?
Do you remember enough to be understood?
The reality is many people int he world DO speak English. They just do not like to let on.
As a general group, Americans are seen as a bit arrogant, and somewhat uneducated. And to a point it is true. We do not usually bother to learn the customs and ways of doing things in other cultures or countries, and we really do not bother to try and learn the languages of other people.
A perfect example is the commercial on TV these days wehre woman one states that she speaks french and several otehr languages, woman two says, "parle (sp) vouz good deal?"
While it is an effort to try and learn a new language, especially if over age 50, I think it is an effort well spent. No ne says you have to be able to carry on a conversation like a native. No one says bad things will happen if you do not learn a new language. I can say that many people, not all, but many, will appreciate your efforts to at least NOT be an obnoxious American.

Probably the largest hurdle to language is learning how the letters that we are familiar with sound in other languages. Second would be their special letters that we "think" we know, like the A with the ring or cirlce over it, or the umlauts on other letters. Buy a CD or tape and listen while you try to dollow the words int he workbook. Repeat as need with the introduction lesson until you learn the letter sounds. Being able to say the name of the street where you are staying will make a difference, trust me there! For those of us who took German class, we say the word Einn, just he way it looks, einn, or one. In Icelandic, it would look the same, though the NN has a T sound, so we would need to say Aett, or what sounds like eight.
Big difference between the streets on the map if you are looking for the number one or the number eight!
No one will bother you too much about your grammer, or sentance structure if you are trying to speak a local language, and most will be patient while they try to help you learn a word, if you are truly trying. For travel, be sure to learn the important words that give you a help in being polite, please, thank you, hello, goodbye, yes no, can you speak English? can you help me? That sort of thing.
If they look at you like you are nuts, say it in English, and ask them to help you say it in their language. It is most likely that letter sound thing...again.
I have found that the CD's at the Barnes and Noble, or the Borders Books can be useful. If they do not have the language you are lookign for in stick, ask, they can probably order it for you. Most of the basic sets run about $30 US. No need to get all Resetta Stone or Berlitz super courses that run into the hundreds of dollars, unless you are planning to move and live in another country.
For the truly cheap (ahem) you can even go nline and find translation sites that have a speaking translation to learn how a word sounds as well as how it is spelled.

Don't beat yourself up if you do NOT learn a language before you travel though. Mostly remember that you are in someone elses home. Their country, their language, their rules. Be polite, ask politely, say thank you, which does tend to sound similar in a number of languages, and as my boss Koby used to say, "Don't embarass the team"!