Pirate pimsleurs. It will not teach you to write or read but it's pretty descent at teaching you to speak and listen. I speak a dialect of Mandarin but cannot understand a lick of Mandarin. Pimsleurs got me listening and speaking Mandarin at around a children's level in a couple months. I think writing and reading come easier once you can listen to it and speak it, at least it does for me. Make sure you're in an area where you can actually speak out loud.