How to learn French or other Languages in 2011

Some days ago my friend Vikrama Dhiman asked me via Twitter

I want to learn French. How many classes do you think one can pick it up in – writing plus speaking. Business Level.

The answer is, of course, more complex than 140 characters, so I gave it a thought as I actually get this question or variations of it at least once a week. Well, what I came up with is the Kirsten Winkler guide to learning a new language from scratch in 2011.

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