Numerous studies have shown that learning a new language is a much steeper hill to climb the older you get. So I never thought it possible that I'd be speaking and understanding something other than English. Michel Thomas' teaching method will get you to that point where you can speak and understand German in a week. I went to a language exchange to see how much I learned studying his recordings, which total about 8 hours. I was astonished at how much I could already communicate and comprehend. Thomas developed his method to teach soldiers from different countries how to communicate with each other (WWII), so it's very pragmatic and timely. It really showed me how foreign language learning doesn't have to be difficult.