I can speak a little French, and this has been useful around Europe (although I'm constantly embarrased by how well others speak English!). I'm off to North Africa next year, and French will be useful there, too, although I'm also going to try to learn some Arabic. I distinctly remember watching one of the Horizons Unlimited DVD's where Grant talks about how things were a little iffy until he said thank you in the boarder guard's language, at which point he apparently came over, shook his hand and smiled. This is the response I want!
In other parts of the world, I think Spanish is quite widely spoken, so that's not a bad idea.
In terms of how I learn a language, I learnt French at school by recording myself speaking it and listening to the 'tapes' (as they were then) walking to and from school. Now, I still like to listen to a language being spoken on MP3's, but am considering investing in the Rosetta Stone Arabic course; see how that goes.
Whatever method you choose, there's no substitute for speaking to locals!
Good luck on your travels!
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