Got a trip to Spain coming up for a major business meeting? Or just heading down to Cancun to party for a weekend? Maybe you want to learn Spanish and move to the Dominican Republic. Whatever your reason, Spanish is moderately easy for a non-native speaker to learn.Spanish is a Romance language, like French, which means that the language developed most of its vocabulary and syntax from Latin. Unlike French, Spanish uses very regular phonetic spellings for its words. This means that as long as you know how the individual letters are pronounced, you can figure out how to say Spanish words more or less correctly. Heck, even English can't boast about that.The quickest way to learn Spanish is to devote yourself to a program of study. Spanish language courses are offered in schools, by mail or over the Internet, so you should be able to find a Spanish language program that will allow you to learn Spanish on your own terms.

1. HOW DO PEOPLE LEARN SPANISH?

There are several ways to learn Spanish, and not all of them are in a classroom. While some people swear that the only way to learn another language is to take classes and pass tests, there are other methods that seem to work for people.

Classroom

The most common way to learn Spanish is by taking courses in the language. This includes going to class, doing homework, practicing and taking tests in the language to prove your comprehension. You can find these courses in local community colleges and in adult education centers.

Conversation Group

If a class isn't for you, try joining a conversation group. This is where you go meet with other people learning the language and a few who are fluent and learn by actually speaking the language. You can find these online at websites like Notes From Spain, where they are organized online, or in your own community, usually advertised in free local newspapers.

Complete Immersion

Another technique to try aside from a classroom is the complete immersion technique. This is where you learn the language by actually going to a Spanish speaking country, and live there while you're learning the language. You can find websites that offer such programs, like The Spanish Institute of Puebla, that give you more information on what complete immersion details.

Language Software

Another popular way to learn Spanish is to use language software. This is usually computer software that teaches lessons on the computer, centering on verbal practice and visual tests given through the software. Many types of language software also come with websites that support what you're learning with the software, and come with extra activities if you've already purchased the software. A website like this is Transparent.com, which supports the Transparent Language line of language software.

Here are some great places to learn Spanish online in the comfort of your home:

StudySpanish.com: Use this site for free to learn the basics, or pay for advanced learning.

SpanishPrograms.com: This free site offers an interactive tutorial that will get you speaking basic Spanish in no-time.

: This is the holy-grail of Spanish websites, with interactive lessons, forums and links to several tutors and online courses.