As someone who has lived in Uruguay and Colombia for the last 10 years, I have become fluent in Spanish and have helped a lot of Spanish speakers become fluent in English.
I have narrowed down language learning methodologies to five specific things which are as follows:
- Choose a great starter program like Duolingo -- this will test your passion.
- Buy a Spanish book and the corresponding audiobook so you can read and listen at the same time -- this makes learning more fun because you're learning in the context of a story.
- Practice pronunciation with Google Translate or another similar tool.
- Seek and participate in Spanish-speaking groups in your area.
- Immerse yourself in a Spanish speaking country.
By far the best way of the five above is the fifth one -- immersing yourself in a foreign country. I have seen dedicated people learn more in one month in a foreign speaking country than those who arrive with eight years of studying Spanish in the US.
I hope this helps someone out there and if you have any questions just hit me up. Have a great day!
Cheers, Richard