A lot has been written about the best method for learning Spanish or any other  language.  There is little doubt that the best and most inexpensive method is to be born in the culture and learn to speak it in the home as a child.  If you have plenty of money to invest in learning Spanish, you can schedule an in country trip to Argentina or Spain or Mexico and take a course at a residential language school.  Particularly if you live with a host family while you are taking the language classes, learning Spanish in this way is probably the next best way to learn the language.

But, realistically, not many people have the resources of time or money for learning Spanish in this way.  There is another method which has the advantages of being easy, fast, inexpensive and effective.  That is accomplished by choosing an interactive CD or MP3 downloadable file. This format for learning Spanish has many advantages, including

• Availability - You can purchase a course for learning Spanish online 24 hours per day, download and be ready to begin your lessons within minutes after download.  All you need is a computer and a credit card.

• Portability - Once you have downloaded the interactive Spanish language course onto your computer, lessons can be offloaded onto an iPod or other portable audio player.  You can use a CD if that is your chosen format on a portable CD player anywhere you choose.  That makes the learning time and location up to you.

• Pace - You get to choose how fast you want to learn.  You can repeat materials over and over if need be until you fully understand the lesson.  You needn't feel pushed by the speed of the rest of the class or dragged down either.

• Quality - The best audio courses for learning Spanish are prepared by native Spanish speakers with neutral accents.  You learn a language pattern with the correct accents and inflection patterns. You can refresh your learning and accent as often as you wish.   You know you are getting the best possible accent.

• Cost - When you use audio CD's you are not paying for the overhead of a formal classroom setting or for the transportation costs of getting back and forth.  There are several excellent audio courses priced at less than $100.

• Time - You aren't investing the time to physically attend class and return from each lesson.  Instead, you can use the time for study of the materials.  You are also able to block out time to study on weekends, while you are traveling or any other time according to your schedule.

• Study aids - Most audio courses don't even require a textbook, although it helps to emphasize more than one kind of learning.  You don't have to carry heavy textbooks along and you can still grab a few minutes to go over a section that you weren't sure about to refresh your memory.

It is now so easy and convenient to learn another language such as Spanish that many people are taking the opportunity to add a second language to their resume.