Learning a language does not have to be stressful. When you approach it in the right way, it's quite enjoyable! A whole new world is opened when you learn a new language. If you travel, it can make communication much less of a problem. Even at home, there's a good chance it will enable you to speak to more people. If you know two or more languages, you are also qualified for many more jobs. The language that is used the most in the United States, next to English, is Spanish.
Depending on where in the U.S. you are, Spanish may be spoken as much as English, if not more. In this environment, speaking Spanish and translating it into English or another language is a useful and marketable ability.
When you speak a new language, you want to be understood, which is why you first want to have a Spanish accent or "tongue." You really want to be able to speak Spanish well and have people understand you; this is more fundamental than the grammar or even knowing many words. Read out loud from books in Spanish to get a feel for how the language flows. Read out loud from Spanish magazines and practice repeating phrases you hear in Spanish from fluent speakers. By doing this, you'll start to instinctively use the right words and inflections when you speak. You will also find that it's actually quite enjoyable to practice speaking and reading in a foreign language. Think of how it felt to learn songs when you were a child; this can be similar. Try to make yourself think in Spanish as much as possible. Whenever you catch yourself thinking about anything, make the effort to translate whatever it is into Spanish. You will have to practice this, so don't be in a hurry. In your everyday life, consider how various phrases that occur to you would sound in Spanish. if you do this often, you'll find that you get much more skilled at it. As you practice, you will notice that you can translate words faster. At some point, you will become so accustomed to this that you won't even have to make an effort; you'll just find yourself thinking in Spanish. If you know how to think in Spanish you can work on saying those thoughts out loud--the key to truly interacting in Spanish.
One time-tested tool to help you learn are flashcards. Flashcards are indeed a familiar but very effective way to help you remember things. Language is largely about memorizing, and these cards help you do just that! Don't just use them for simple objects, but also for grammar, remembering the different tenses and other aspects of learning the language. One useful thing about flashcards is their size; they are something that you can take with you and study at various times during the day wherever you go. You can make a game of it and have a friend or fellow student test you. Simply use one side for Spanish and the other for your original language. Learning how to speak Spanish, or any language, doesn't need to be an experience in frustration. It's so easy to find hints and tools to help you with the learning.
The key to learning a new language, whether it is Spanish or anything else, is to be open to it. You can absorb the information much more with an open mind. And this... the more you try to make Spanish sound like English, the harder it will be for you.
There are many Spanish courses available to help you learn to speak Spanish. My favorite course is Rocket Spanish, an interactive audio course that uses conversational Spanish as well as interactive audio lessons and software games to get you speaking Spanish quickly.
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