I work at a place where most people speak Spanish, and I want to be able to hold conversations with them. I’ve watched a couple of YouTube videos, but I haven’t been able to retain the information. I need to write down flashcards and notes. I’m wondering, and I don’t mind if it’s proprietary, what is the best and fastest way to learn Spanish?
Fastest? Moving to a Spanish speaking country. Total immersion is how the French Foreign Legion teaches French from my understanding.
I would probably do a mix of a language program, say Duolingo, Pimsler tapes or Rosetta Stone, and asking a few of your Spanish speaking friends to speak primarily Spanish to you, switching to English only when you are completely lost on a concept. Between the two you should pickup Spanish or rather, their dialect of Spanish, fairly quickly.
I like this. Bonus: read children’s books and bilingual books; watch news or children’s shows in Spanish.
Find a good way to crunch vocabulary memorization with digital flashcard programs you can work during any downtime you have.