New Language Not Always Headache - William Charland, Rocky Mountain News

It's a deceptively powerful, childlike approach to education based on music and riddles and games. Eight hours a day, my classmates and I scrambled around like kids at recess, laughing and playing in Spanish...First, we'd learn a bit of vocabulary - say, parts of the body. Then we'd be given a skit or a contest to act out what we'd studied, the results were remarkable. For the first time, I found myself learning new words and phrases in order to communicate, not just to pass a test. It's a process of weaving new information with all the facts and feelings of actual life, very much as children learn...Americans are recognizing the value of learning Spanish. And some of us are finding the process can be fun.

Fast, Effective Ways To Learn A LanguageOne-Week, 50 Hour Course Teaches Most How To Converse - Jo Beth McDaniel,  Investor's Business Daily, 

...Even if you hated language classes, you may respond quickly to newer, more innovative approaches to learning. No more memorizing verb tenses... Research shows that variety - whether from games, ethnic music or interactive computer programs - speeds learning and improves retention...At Expanded Learning, students are involved in dramas where they must use their new language to communicate. These and other memory echniques help language settle in the long-term memory bank. Retention is important: in traditional classroom settings, as much as 70% of material learned may be forgotten within a 24-hour period. "It has to be fun or it's not going to stick," said Expanded Learning owner Davalos.