IF you are interested in learning Spanish, here is some welcome news – you already know more of the language than you might think!
Spanish is a romance language - that is, descended from the language of ancient Rome, Latin - but English also has its roots in Latin. There are so many words that are spelled the same or nearly the same that you have a built-in vocabulary in Spanish.
Of course, they are not spoken the same way. To learn Spanish start with mastering the alphabet and in particular the pronunciation of the vowels. Unlike English and many other languages, Spanish is almost completely phonetical so that the way words are written is how they are spoken. If you know the sounds the letters make, you know how to say the word.
Then get some conversational Spanish under your belt. Learn useful Spanish phrases like 'How do you say . . . ?', ‘Where is the train station?’, and ‘Yes, I'd love another beer.’
Make flash cards out of ordinary index cards. They're small enough to carry with you and so whenever you have a few minutes to spare during the day you can test yourself on Spanish.
Study the basic Spanish verbs and know how to conjugate them. Verbs like ‘to be’ – there are two of them in Spanish – ‘to have’, ‘to want’, ‘to like’, and so on. Think about things you are likely to want express and focus on those first. If you’re traveling, then understanding directions, times, numbers, food items and transportation is important.
And the last tip on learning Spanish is simply to enjoy the process and practice. Don't stress over your pronunciation or anything else. You will not say things exactly right, but so what? You're learning, and the only way to improve is to challenge yourself and use what you learn. As you begin to speak Spanish more - and make yourself understood - you will gain confidence and skill. And you begin to learn Spanish faster.