While you don't need to know the whole language to effectively communicate and know how to speak German, you should know some.
If you know some of the basic phrases and words of the German region that you are visiting, you will have a better vacation.
Basics that would help you would be things that deal with directions, food, stores, bathroom, hotels, taxi's, etc. If you have these basics down, you will be able to get your point across even if it is a bit difficult and takes a few minutes.
I strongly recommend that you either buy a "Your Language" to German dictionary or gather up some words and phrases via an online course. Through an online course you can review and choose the phrases that you want to bring with you and print them out.
This will give you a much easier time learning how to speak German even if it's only the basics.
Here is a basic and fast intro to the most important words you need to learn when traveling to a German speaking country (I've included the English word, the German word and the German pronunciation)...
English: Yes
German: Ja
Pronunciation: Yah
English: No
German: Nein
Pronunciation: Nine
English: Please
German: Bitte
Pronunciation: Bit-tuh
English: Thanks
German: Danke
Pronunciation: Dahn-kuh
English: You're Welcome
German: Bitte
Pronunciation: Bit-tuh
English: Excuse Me
German: Entschuldigen Sie
Pronunciation: Ent-shool-de-gen zee
English: Where's The Restroom/Toilet?
German: Wo ist die Toilette
Pronunciation: Vo ist dee toy-let-uh
English: Downstairs
German: Unten
Pronunciation: Oonten
English: Upstairs
German: Oben
Pronunciation: Oben
Those are the basics that will get you off to a great start communicating with people. This is also a great base for learning how to speak German which will kick off your learning quickly.
Sean Plainmen is an expert in using the Internet for the power of learning how to speak German. You can find more information on his blog here.
http://www.howtospeakgerman.secretshq.com
Source: www.isnare.com
