Speaking Spanish: Learning a Language :

Hola, mi nombre es Steve. ¿Cómo hace usted hoy?

Can you read the message above? It simply says "Hi, my name is Steve. How are you today?" Many of you reading this page are interested in learning Spanish, but may be confused as to how to begin. I recommend that you try to find an avenue to learn Spanish by speaking the language. If you have any Spanish friends or family ask them to help you, chances are they'll welcome the chance to share their knowledge.

If you don't know anyone who speaks Spanish a good alternative would be to invest in language instruction. Many community colleges offer night courses for foreign languages, which is a great way to learn to speak Spanish in a safe environment.

Going to night school is time consuming, however and after a day at work do you really want to go school? Or maybe you'd just prefer to get through the initial stages of learning on your own due to shyness. In that case you may want to look into some of the great software and websites that are available.

This is the course of action I took. After doing some research, I found that for me the best way to learn to speak Spanish would be to buy a software program. I chose Tell Me More, which is not the cheapest option on the market, but I felt it offered the best bang for my buck.

Tell Me More includes a DVD of video lessons that are very good for immersing you in the Spanish language. There is also software to be installed on your computer which uses speech recognition to correct pronunciation and grade your performance. One of the big advantages for me was that the video lessons can easily be imported onto any portable media device, so I was able to learn Spanish speaking during my commute.

Tell Me More includes two levels of instruction, which you choose, from complete beginner to expert. Once you have "completed" these levels, your learning continues through the Tell Me More website. The website offers podcasts of Spanish-language TV and news coverage complete with breaks to test comprehension of the material.

There are other products available, but I can't speak to how well they work. This is what I used and I couldn't be happier with that decision. Even if you decide to go with a different method to learn to speak Spanish, it is worth your time to look into Tell Me More.