I work at a place where most people speak Spanish, and I want to be able to hold conversations with them. I’ve watched a couple of YouTube videos, but I haven’t been able to retain the information. I need to write down flashcards and notes. I’m wondering, and I don’t mind if it’s proprietary, what is the best and fastest way to learn Spanish?
For spoken conversations, I think Pimsleur is great. I’ve used it for several international trips, and locals regularly asked if I lived there. What I like is that it 1. focuses on listening and understanding, 2. instructs you to learn first to pronounce words correctly and only to learn the spelling much later and 3. starts with the most useful phrases and develops from there. Instead of teaching you random vocab words like “milk” and “pants” the first phrase you learn is “I don’t understand Spanish.” It mixes in repetition and small changes in the just the right amounts so you learn actively instead of just memorizing. I love Pimsleur.