Perhaps one of the founding classics not only of Spanish literature but of Western literature as a whole is Cervantes’ Don Quixote. The phrase “tilting at windmills”, commonly used in English to describe the act of taking on an imaginary enemy, comes from a scene in this book – as do a great many phrases used as modern Spanish idioms. As an influential piece of literature, Cervantes’ masterwork is difficult to gainsay. From Franco’s era in the early-to-mid 20th Century a number of renowned authors were forged, perhaps the most influential and popular being Federico Garcia Lorca, whose Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding) is particularly unforgettable.

The influence of Spanish on great works of art and literature is not limited to Spain itself. From the past century alone, there has been the Magical Realist movement, most famously embodied by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s incredible novels Cien años de Soledad (100 Years of Solitude) and El Coronel no tiene quién le escriba (No-one Writes To The Colonel). Marquez, now 81, is still viewed as a massively influential voice in the world of literature in his native Colombia and beyond. Also worth reading are Jorge Luis Borges and, more recently, the Mexican Carlos Fuentes.

This is to say nothing of the wonderful paintings of artists such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, nor the internationally renowned films of Pedro Almodovar (at present, every new Almodovar film is awaited like the Second Coming), all of which have informed and been informed by the Spanish language. Explore for yourself and remember that, although all of the above works have either been translated into English or are non-verbal, there is always something lost in translation.

Spanish, for its part, is spoken in much of South America (the lone exception being Brazil – although with the similarities between its national language, Portuguese, and Spanish it’s still handy to have some Spanish should you wish to visit). As well as this, the majority of Central and even some of North America speak Spanish, while in Europe Spanish is spoken in Andorra and, of course, Spain. These areas of the world provide almost anything a traveller could wish to see or do.

A skiing holiday is always popular and, if that’s your bag, Andorra is a mountain paradise. Still largely unspoilt and undeniably beautiful, it’s really worth going at least once. If you’re more interested in classic architecture, then Mexico with its wonderful Aztec history is hard to beat, as is the gorgeous Inca setting of Perù. In fact, the whole of South America has a real old world charm to it despite the modernisation that the world has seen in the last century. And as for Spain – if you can’t find something there to please you between Gaudi’s wonderful Barcelona, the thriving mass that is Madrid and the wondrous winding streets of Pamplona, then perhaps you’ve seen everything already.

Alongside this external tutoring, however, there is a strong case to be made for the Internet as a language resource. This applies not only to Spanish, but to any modern language, as the wealth of information on the World Wide Web provides an excellent reinforcement for what you learn in tutoring sessions. Unless you have unlimited wealth, it is simply not practical to have a tutor at your beck and call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By judicious use of the Internet you can address areas of weakness identified by your tutor.

Of the many resources available on the Internet, the most useful are tutoring sites. A particular favourite in this case is www.about.com, which contains a wealth of games for the beginner, enabling them to test themselves in real time with a positive system of feedback. There are also subject-specific vocabulary and grammar lists which aid you in pursuits such as writing short pieces about yourself, your family, your job and any number of other subjects.

Last but not least, the advent of Interactive content has seen most of the world’s media outlets going online, with newspapers putting most of their content on their websites (a handy grammar and vocab exercise is to read a world news story in English and then in Spanish), and radio stations streaming online (allowing you to hear the language spoken perfectly, with the correct stresses and intonations.

Yes, it’s certainly easier to learn when you’re having fun, and there are ways to increase the fun factor, but how you deal with the stage where it becomes boring will define you as a language learner – if you can stick with it, you’ll do well, not least because a key element of language learning is repetition!

Your progress is sure to be a surprise at first, because from knowing nothing to knowing a little bit feels comparatively like a real leap – and it is. It’s only normal, then, that when progress slows down you’ll become a little disconcerted. Therefore it’s worth setting yourself little goals. Master the little bit of grammar that was causing you to become frustrated.

Try putting all the Spanish you’ve learnt so far into an introduction – you can then see how far you’ve come, and give yourself the confidence to beat those demons. Confidence, more than anything, is the key to learning a language. Patience is certainly important, but without confidence it will only mean you repeatedly make mistakes and get all the more discouraged. Confidence allows you to learn from those mistakes.

Find ways to bring Spanish into your everyday life. Using the Internet, find a Spanish radio station that offers live streaming, and hear the language being spoken. Once you start hearing the language more often, it will become easier to replicate the sounds speakers make. That is simply invaluable.

If you’re coming to Spanish as an adult learner, it’s the perfect time for you to learn. When kids at school learn something, they’re learning because they have to, and it’s impossible to overstate what a disadvantage duress is when learning anything, but most of all a whole other language. As an adult learner, you’re doing this because you want to, and this opens up your mind exponentially – you’re ready to learn so, as long as you’ve found a method you’re comfortable with, you’re good to go.

Early on, it’s important to learn the usual beginners’ stuff – introductions will make up much of this. ¡Hola! ¿Que tál? Or “Hi, how are you?” It’s quite short and sweet – and this is something that characterises the Spanish language. There aren’t too many tricky long words to get your head around, so early on you can just concentrate on familiarising yourself with the sounds of the language. Before long you’ll be dying to learn more!

There are many good reasons to learn another language, and several reasons why Spanish is a good choice should you decide to test yourself. The first holds well to an old phrase: Travel broadens the mind. This is undeniably true, and the mind will broaden further if, while travelling, you share a conversation with a native in their language. It doesn’t need to be a discussion of the politics of their country, just a few sentences about the weather are enough to give you a cosmopolitan feel. It will also make your journey infinitely more convenient if you can get clear instructions on where to go, rather than following the guy who looks like he knows.

Perhaps the best reason, and one that only really becomes truly apparent when you’re actually in situ in another country, is how much more receptive people are towards you when you’ve made the effort to speak their language. It’s impossible to overestimate.

And why Spanish? Well, behind English and Mandarin Chinese it is the world’s most broadly-spoken language. Aside from Spain, it is spoken in the beautiful ski haven of Andorra, almost all of South America and most of Central America too. It’s a truly beautiful language, sounding wonderfully musical and sensual. And to add to this, it’s a great entry point to other Romance languages like French, Italian and Portuguese – so if you’re feeling brave you can give those a go too.

One of the neatest tricks there is is startlingly simple in it’s execution, but can be hugely beneficial. Most mobile phones can have the language used in the menus and directions changed – simply by switching your display language to Spanish, you’ll be regularly exposed to the language. You can still write and read text messages in English, but everything else on your phone will be in Spanish. Over time, you’ll learn automatically what words mean, and even just seeing the language several times a day will be useful. But remember, always write down exactly how to switch the language back to English by testing it beforehand – otherwise, if needing to do something complex using your phone, you may be stuck in Spanish!

In the same vein, as your Spanish improves, why not try and read simple news stories in Spanish? Many newsagents offer Spanish newspapers, and there is of course a wealth of information and Spanish news available online. You don’t need to understand everything, but sometimes reading the same news report in English and in Spanish can help gain a level of comprehension that can’t be taught. Most people who achieve true fluency in a second language do so by needing to use the language on a daily basis, mostly through living in a relevant country. While this may not be possible, you can, using these small methods, introduce a Spanish flavour to your English life which could have countless benefits to your retention of the language.

One of the most recognisable forms of self-tuition is audio books. These generally involve following a teaching program via CD or MP3. The books come with work sheets and, usually, oddly optimistic promises of your chances of success. They can be quite expensive, and their results vary greatly.

If you’re a total beginner, in truth self-tuition is not really an option. To learn a new language, you need to be able to ask questions, go for verifications and be hearing the language spoken over and over again. While the tapes can offer the latter part of this, they offer no chance for you to pause and ask for something to be clarified.

This does become less of an issue as time, and your grasp on the language, progresses. But mostly people find they do need active teaching – via night school or private tuition – to really turn basic Spanish phrases into conversation. As the tapes are set to a standard syllabus which you must follow, you will not learn how to structure sentences yourself – most tapes work off the concept of you hearing a phrase, learning what it means and then repeating it. Which is all very well, but none of this is going to get you fluent in Spanish. Passable, yes, but for a true genuine ability to speak Spanish well, you will probably find you need a teacher of some kind, at least some of the time.

This doesn’t mean the world and market of audio books, CDs and DVDs is a complete waste of time. These can be used to great effect as an addition to your personal learning, allowing you to expose yourself to the language outside of strict classes. However, if you wish to learn a language from scratch using just these things, you will need endless amounts of patience and perhaps even endless amounts of time.

With private tuition, the great advantage is that you can set the syllabus. Tell the tutor exactly what you want to learn and they should then tailor a learning pattern to suit you. This isn’t available at night school, where you will be one of several students, all needing to stick to the same syllabus to prevent confusion. If there are some areas of Spanish you don’t feel you need to learn or you’re not interested in gaining a qualification in the language, private tuition can be extremely useful.

Most people offering their services as private tutors are already qualified teachers, while some are language graduates. Both are equally capable of teaching you everything you need to know about learning Spanish. Although learning the language with a native Spanish speaker might seem like a good idea, most people find that learning from someone with the same mother tongue are yourself is far more useful when it comes to fully explaining word meanings and sentence structure. This is a matter of taste, however, and you may prefer to work with a native speaker. If a tutor is claiming to have qualifications, ask to see their certificates and proof of this claim. They shouldn’t be offended and you’ll get value for money.

Private tuition can be expensive, particularly if you wish to learn for a long time. But unlike with night classes, private tuition doesn’t tie you in to any kind of commitment apart from for the next lesson. If you decide half way through that you’ve had enough, you can cancel.

Finding a private tutor takes literally a couple of minutes on the internet. You could also try your local newspaper to see if anyone is advertising their services. Private tuition can be the perfect way to learn the Spanish you feel you need, and for that reason is highly recommended.

One of the most enduringly popular ways to learn any new language is to enrol on a course at night school. The majority of these work toward an academic qualification over a set period of time, usually a year for a basic grounding in the language.

This is particularly useful if you are totally new to Spanish. These courses tend to be taught by qualified teachers or Native speakers of the language, all of whom have experience in guiding beginners. Although it is possible to teach yourself a language using any number of methods – for example, DVDs – there is always going to be a point at which you need a little help. At this point, having a qualified teacher who kviagraws the language perfectly will be of endless help.

Luckily, Spanish is one of the most popular choices when it comes to people wanting to learn a second language. This is largely due to the geographical regions in which it is used, as Spanish is the national language of numerous countries outside of Spain, and particularly those in Latin America. This popularity should mean there are plenty of options for night classes available to you. These will usually take place at your local grammar school or further education college, so check online and order a prospectus. Some universities also offer beginners courses in language, taught by students who are undertaking a professional teaching qualification.

The majority of Spanish night classes will require a fee, though this will vary – so shop around. Most often your fee will include the teacher’s time and some coursework, as well as out-of-class work such as having tests marked. Don’t assume that just because a course is expensive it is worth doing – that course may simply give away a lot of unnecessary learning aids, most of which are vastly inflated in price anyway. Choose a simple course for what you consider a reasonable fee, and make the commitment by paying up front. With a return to traditional schooling methods, you could be speaking Spanish in no time.