Learn Hindi

A cornucopia of theoretical perspectives exist regarding the best approach to learning a foreign language.  Of course, every individual has to find the method that works best for them.  As for me, I started studying Hindi approximately one year prior to the beginning of my Fulbright grant.  I sought out various free websites (see below) and some language-learning software lent to me by friends and family, and I studied informally with a French professor at my college whose second mother tongue was Hindi.

Some people, including many native Hindi-speakers, believe that one must begin studying Hindi by learning Devanagari script.  But, if your main goal is verbal comprehension and communication, I would disagree.  As this was my goal, I found it helpful to begin by building a simple vocabulary (fruits, vegetables, greetings, etc.), then learning basic phrases and question words, and only then tackling the Devanagari (which I didn't really do until we attended Landour Language School in Mussoorie).

The most effective tool in terms of acquiring the language, though, was being thrown into an environment (i.e. North India) where I was completely immersed in Hindi.  At times it was frustrating and exhausting (in fact, it often still is) as I struggled to grapple with it, but I am certain that this struggle combined with my desire to communicate is to credit for the progress I've made till now.

Should you like to start studying the basics of Hindi independently, here are some websites that I have used (or since discovered) that you may find useful:

BookBox.  Lots of virtual children's stories (YouTube videos) read in Hindi, and subtitled with Devanagari script.  Intended for learning how to read in Hindi (though you should probably learn the letters first), but this could also be a good way to pick up the language as you can watch the video first in English, and then in Hindi (and many other languages, too).
http://www.bookbox.com/

Hindi Language Tutorials.  A great place to begin.  I recommend starting with the "Getting Started" section where you can build up your Hindi vocabulary.  You can purchase a membership for access to more material, but you they provide so much material that I'm not sure why you would need to.

http://www.hindilearner.com/hindi_tutorials.php#one

Hindi Lessons from UniLang.org. Intended for beginners, written by a beginner. These lessons would probably be best used as a supplement to formal or informal Hindi classes, though you might be able to navigate them on your own. This site does not teach how to read Devanagari script, but everything is also translated into Roman script, so you don't really have to. For me, these nine lessons helped clarify some of the more tricky concepts I was learning elsewhere; so if you don't find it useful now, remember to check it out later.

http://www.unilang.org/course.php?res=69&id=hindi_0&pagenum=index

Hindi Resources.  A great collection of free resources--including free downloadable Hindi textbooks and worksheets--from the Hindu Urdu Flagship program at the University of Texas at Austin.
http://hindiurduflagship.org/resources/

HindiPod101.com.  Similar to Rosetta Stone, but it's free on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/hindipod101/feed 

Learn Devanagari Script.  Designed for beginners.  Best used in conjunction with a taught Hindi course or textbook.  A fellow ETA, Stephanie, had great success learning the Devanagari alphabet with an iPhone app, which I'm sure those of you with iPhones could easily find.

http://www.avashy.com/hindiscripttutor.htm 

**THAAL (Teaching Hindi as a Language).  This site is the brainchild of my husband, who is a native Hindi speaker himself.  :)  The main language component of this site comes in the form of Bollywood Song of the Month.  Each song has a corresponding crossword puzzle that utilizes key vocab from the song.  You can also like The Hindi Wizard Facebook page for updates.

Virtual Hindi.  From New York University.  Includes tabs of Stories, Festivals, Videos, Grammar, Exercises, and Links.
http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/mideast/hindi/grammar.html

**Added June 21, 2014

Other websites I intend to explore:
http://www.ispeakhindi.com/
http://www.learn-hindi-online.com/
http://www.livemocha.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/links4languages/hindi <--links to more Hindi-learning websites
http://taj.chass.ncsu.edu/index.html