As a young adult, what is the most effective way to learn Spanish? Computer courses? Audio tapes? Textbooks?

I stared learning Spanish at university and I did not speak a word. We had 7 lessons a week at university and was taught the basics, but it was when I went to Spain for a year when I really started to pick it up. Spending time in the country allows you to get to grips with Spanish much quicker and is the best way to learn Spanish.

I understand that this may not be feasible to do so try audio tapes as sitting reading Spanish will be useless if you do not understand the language. Listening and practising is the best way to pick it up. You could also try night school as this would help you understand the complexities of the language and give you a good base to start from.

If you are going to buy books, beginners Spanish is obviously where you should start. Try the basics such as my name is (me llamo...) and I live in (vivo en...). It is always good to know the basics of a language before you progress. The most important thing to remember is that it will take longer to really get a grasp for Spanish if you are teaching yourself. Get family and friends to test you regularly to keep it up.

If you have any questions then leave me a message. Good luck..or should I say buena suerte!

The link below is very useful and one you should definately consider visiting. One of the main features is their penpal opportunities.

Finding a penpal is a great way to practise your spanish as you can pick up on some of the language your penpal uses and use them in your own letters. You start off writing in your own language with as much Spanish as you can manage and then as you progress you can include more phrases as you go with the hope that you will be writing a full letter in Spanish.