After trying a few different approaches I've found an optimal method that works really well for myself.
1) Memrise (paid). This gives you a solid vocabulary and a decent intuition on grammer/sentence structure.
2) Pimsleur (torrented, one 30min lesson every day). This is crucial to actually put all your knowledge from Memrise to use and make it instinctual. This also helps develop a very natural accent.
I did this for 45 days (~2 hours a day) before going to visit family in Italy with zero prior knowledge. My italian wasn't pretty but I could hold a wide range of conversations
I've been doing this for about 4 months for Spanish with just as much success. YMMV.
1) Memrise (paid). This gives you a solid vocabulary and a decent intuition on grammer/sentence structure.
2) Pimsleur (torrented, one 30min lesson every day). This is crucial to actually put all your knowledge from Memrise to use and make it instinctual. This also helps develop a very natural accent.
I did this for 45 days (~2 hours a day) before going to visit family in Italy with zero prior knowledge. My italian wasn't pretty but I could hold a wide range of conversations
I've been doing this for about 4 months for Spanish with just as much success. YMMV.