1.Immersion Course

If you opt for an immersion course you'll be surrounded by Spanish to such a degree that it is almost impossible to avoid ? even if you wanted to. In fact it's most similar to the way in which you learnt English when you were a kid.

The most effective way to learn Spanish is to go and live in a Spanish speaking country ? Spain, Latin America or some of the Caribbean ? and speak nothing but Spanish. If you ask people you are in contact with on a daily basis to only speak to you in Spanish and correct your mistakes then you'll progress fast.

Focused class work and daily encounters in Spanish in the course of your life will help you no end and if you stay with a host family that speaks nothing but Spanish too then you'll have to interact with them in Spanish at home too. Grammar can help you learn specific points, but make sure your classes don't get stuck to much into grammar that you'll never use.

2.Intensive Course

Many major cities run intensive courses and so you may be able to find one where you live. You'll spend all day in class 5 days a week and practice speaking Spanish in your group, or preferably with a single native Spanish speaker. Once again some grammar way be helpful, but it shouldn't be the focus of the course.

You could also take an intensive course in a Spanish speaking country. Although the results won't be as good as fully immersing yourself in the language and culture you should still see a dramatic improvement in the standard of your Spanish.

3.Regular Course

A regular Spanish course will usually consist of one or two classes a week, each of them 2 to 2 and a half hours in duration. You should easily be able to find this type of course in your hometown and so if you're unable to make the time necessary for an intensive course this is a good option instead. When choosing a course make sure it concentrates on speaking, with grammar study restricted to helping you with specific learning points when necessary.

4.Home Study

Studying at home has many huge advantages but with it are also some major drawbacks. The advantages include the ability to be able to study exactly when and where you can. If you can do this on a daily basis all the better, but otherwise whenever you can ? the train on car on the way to work are good for listening to Spanish audio for example.

The downside is that you'll need much more discipline to make it work and nobody to help you when you get stuck, as you inevitably will at some stage. It's also much harder to learn conversational Spanish because you have no real conversations where you have to think on your feet.

Conclusion

As you can see no one method is right for everyone due to factors such as money, family commitments or simple lack of time. However, anyone who wants to learn Spanish should be able to find a course that suits their own lifestyle and time constraints. The key to learning is to be as effective as possible; that means whichever option you take you need to study the right things in order to make progress.