The stranger blurted out dozens of words in rapid succession, explaining exactly where the zoo was. He used vocabulary I hadn't yet managed to learn, such as the words "left" and "right". At the end of his answer he pointed south. I thanked him, then followed his finger for a couple of blocks, posed my question again to a new stranger, waited through her answer, and once again followed the finger-point. I did this until I eventually found the zoo.

For native English speakers, it's easy to not learn much of another language when going away on a trip. A huge portion of the world speaks some English and many people speak it extremely well, so it's often easiest to communicate in our language. Though while nobody is expecting you to learn Danish for a weekend away in Copenhagen, what about longer trips? And trips to more exotic locales?

Learning to speak a few words of a foreign tongue is a good way to enhance your trip, as it allows you to go more places and try more things. It's also a good way to make friends and gain a few appreciative "oohs" and "aahs" from locals.

The best place to start is with the basics: "Hello", "Please", "Thank You" and "Bathroom" are some of the essentials. Once those are down pat, numbers are useful, as they not only allow you to understand prices, but let you convey how much of something you want; accidentally renting a room for 12 nights instead of two can lead to a headache and a heated debate when you're desperately late for your flight and trying to check out.

A great hint I learned was once being told by a fellow traveler to learn verbs before nouns. After trying this theory, I became a big fan of it. Vocabulary is easy to find – a small dictionary would have all the words you need – but sentences can be hard to say or understand without knowing conjugation. If you met a nice Chilean and wanted to explain that you were a handsome librarian - "Yo soy un bibliotecario guapo" – the only word not in your dictionary would be "soy", or, "I am". For that, you would have to know the verb you needed was "ser".

Also, acting out vocabulary is another surefire way to make friends.

Technology is helping with language like never before, too. For those traveling with smart phones, try out the Google Translate app to help you while on your journey. It translates over 50 different languages and even has Text to Speech functionality, so you can hear how to say the phrase in question. Languages include Chinese and Japanese, which very handily allows you to translate what you are trying to say into characters and show it to a local, taxi driver, etc. This is worth its weight in gold when traveling to Asia. It's free to download and works offline, so no need to worry about exorbitant roaming charges.

For those feeling even more high-tech, try out the augmented reality of the World Lens app. Simply hold your smart phone camera up to a foreign street sign or menu and have it translated to English instantaneously on your screen. Absolutely amazing. (Only translates from Spanish at the moment, but more languages on the way)

For those of you still kicking it old school with paper, most guide books have a pretty good section in the back for simple phrases and a handy pocket dictionary will run you under ten bucks.

And if you're traveling single? There's no better method for learning a language than finding yourself a tall, dark-haired dictionary. For educational purposes, obviously.

My Recommendations

Learn a little before you go: Spend a couple of hours picking up a few of the essentials before your trip; it'll improve your journey and the locals will appreciate the effort. The web has no shortage of free courses: try Livemocha or BBC Languages for some handy beginner lessons.

Take your new language on the road: Lonely Planet Phrasebooks do a great job of giving you the essentials and more, plus they like to throw in a few fun phrases and tongue-twisters that are entertaining to try.

Take your new language on the road (for the tech savvy): Have a smart phone? The Google Translate and World Lens apps utilize cool new technology to translate for you on the go.