Need to get your conversation skills up to skill quickly? The Pimsleur tapes/CDs are an excellent way to acquire and review basic conversational skills.

The Pimsleur approach is to listen and speak for thirty minutes a day, every day. The great thing about these CDs is that they are not just listening; you are prompted to carry out conversations as you listen. The program has three levels and one month of material for each level.

Like Mnemosyne and SuperMemo, Pimsleur CDs use spaced repetition, which means the early material you learn is sprinkled in with the later material. So, you shouldn't listen to several tracks per day, even if you have a few free hours; the CDs will work best if you can do 30 minutes a day, every day.

As you can see, the Pimsleur CDs are very expensive. Although they're worth the money if you have it, many local libraries also have copies, so don't forget to check their first if you're trying to save some cash.