Traveling to Spain
Can someone learn Spanish enough to get by and converse with locals with 3 months of immersion?
2 Answers
Absolutely you can! Take a look at my profile. I did the Pimsleur course about 3 months before our trip to Spain, got through Level 2 and about half of level 3. I was able to sort out the payment for our place for my brother-in-law, finding out where the fishing tackle shop was so my son could buy a fishing rod, return the fishing rod which broke and get a new one, get directions for places, on and on. Fluent? Not by a long shot. Able to get by and enjoy doing so? Absolutely!!
I'd say YES, 3 months of full immersion in a language, speaking it every day should get you the skills to introduce yourself, go (grocery) shopping, tell the time and complain about or praise the weather... BUT not to struggle with every single word all day every day on the way (which would drive even the most patient people, including yourself, completely nuts), I'd really recommend gaining some basic skills first. You wouldn't want to call the fire fighters and thén find out you don't know the word 'fuego' (fire) yet! o.o If you'll be staying with people who also speak English (or another language you speak) with a certain degree of proficiency, they can of course help you, but personally I'd prefer to be less dependent than that. (Plus, if on day 1 you can only say 'hello' and your name, it'll take quite a while before you can go anywhere alone or have any kind of conversation.. whereas if you'd get the basics down beforehand, you could actually immerge into the language right away, which I think would make your trip múch more useful.. as well as more fun. 
