<p>Any suggestions for best way to learn Spanish? DH and I are planning to spend a month to 6 weeks in Mexico this winter. I am quick with languages, but have no Spanish study (other than helping drill DS etc. in the earlier of his 8~ years of MS/HS Spanish). Took hs French - not fluent, and Latin.</p>
<p>Don’t laugh…I’ve found the “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Learning Spanish on your Own” to be very helpful in the context you describe. Have a look next time you’re in a bookstore. If you don’t have lots of time, it’s pretty good.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking about finding a local Spanish speaker and see if I can barter for lessons. Maybe do some ESL in return.</p>
<p>Thanks, driver. Even though I know I would benefit from talking out loud, that sounds like a good start. I can practice when I’m there!</p>
<p>A couple of years ago, I saw a series of Language tutorial CDs in Barnes and Noble (sorry, I can’t remember the name of them). These CDs were touted as being the same that the State Dept. issued to its diplomats being assigned or reassigned to new posts. If you have a daily commute through traffic clogged highways, you might consider using a resource such as this to both achieve your goal and make the most of the otherwise wasted time.</p>
<p>I think the series PH is referring to is the Foreign Service Institute series put out by Barrons (not our fellow poster, as far as I know.) I’ve used both the French and the Spanish series, but they’re really better as a part of an ongoing multi-year process—at least that’s my experience. For what jmmom described–a crash course–the Complete Idiot books are actually very good. Even my French cousins were impressed with the phonetics, once I explained it to them.</p>