If you have decided to learn Spanish as a second language, you basically have two ways to learn the basics through to a conversational or fluent level. You can go to a country where the language is spoken and take a course while immersing yourself in the culture and people at the same time. Or you can decide to learn Spanish in your own country using various courses and/or the internet.

Both approaches have their good and bad points. The immediate bad point of going to another country to learn a language is the extra cost in terms of time and money. This is not practical for many people that have a job or financial commitments in their own country.

In fact it is not really a convenient option by comparison to a home study course but it is widely regarded as the best way to learn a language. This is obvious, as you are exposed to the language you are choosing to learn all the time.

A home study course will not cost you as much and you can fit it into your schedule if you are time poor but it probably won't be as effective as an immersion course. Put simply, a home study course is part time learning and an immersion course if full time learning. And the results reflect this. Having said this, you can still get to a good level of communication with a Spanish home study course.

Depending on how determined you are to learn Spanish, a good home study course can get you to a fairly good conversational level. More than likely, however, it will prime you for when you actually want to use Spanish - maybe for a vacation or business. And this is when you will really start learn the language.

So here are a few programs - home study learn Spanish computer programs that may help you reach these objectives.

Visual Link Spanish

This is a good learn Spanish computer program. It uses multi media to gets it's point across. So a word or action is represented by a graphical figure or character doing the action/ representing the word. I also like the way it simplifies the sentence structure so that you can be saying reasonably useful sentences within about 5 minutes of using the program. In fact this is their catchphrase or byline on the product - that you will be speaking complete Spanish sentences in five minutes. Of course it gets more complicated as the grammar becomes more complex but it is a good program.

Rocket Spanish

Rocket Spanish is a popular learn Spanish program. In terms of uniqueness, it can be downloaded over the internet immediately after purchase. So you could be learning Spanish within 30 minutes. Rocket Spanish uses a few methods to teach the language. In fact it could not be strictly terms a learn Spanish computer program as it uses an mp3 course to teach the language. It also features and interactive pdf course and various games that help you practice comprehension and vocabulary. You can even print out some flash cards that it supplies if you want to play games against other people. You can sign up for a free six day course to get a feel for the Rocket Spanish program.

Before You Know It

Before You Know It utilizes words and small phrases as the building blocks of language, and their computer program allows you to learn Spanish using sight and sound. It even allows you to record your pronunciation and compare it to that of a native speaker. There is also a "lite" version of the program that can be downloaded for free. It shows you how the program works with a few of the introductory lessons. You can get a feel for the program and whether it would suit your learning style. Then you can upgrade to the paid version.

all of these programs can help you get to a capable level of Spanish, but they are only as good as the person using them. You have to use them often and work at your Spanish language skills.

If you learn to speak Spanish as a second language, you can build a positive relationship with those who communicate in Spanish as their native language and are part of our population. The Hispanic population has an ever-growing influence on the United States as well as globally.

Our economy is becoming increasingly interdependent; Spanish is currently the third most frequently spoken language. Therefore, if you know how to speak Spanish, you will reap a number of benefits.

If you are bilingual in English and Spanish, you are much more likely to be in demand in the marketplace. If you can speak Spanish, you'll be much better able to communicate with coworkers, employees, customers, and clients who are native Spanish speakers.

It is also becoming much more important to be able to communicate in Spanish with regard to business and career matters in general. Recent marketing studies have determined that the Hispanic segment of the population is the most rapidly increasing segment of the consumer market. This means that companies are scrambling to attract and accommodate those who speak Spanish.

What does this mean for you? If you learn to communicate in Spanish, this can give a good boost to your career. Additionally, this need is only going to increase, because the Spanish-speaking population is only going to continue to grow.

Globally, Spanish is the native language of more than 40 million people. It's the third most common spoken native language, behind Mandarin and Hindi. Because there is such widespread use of Spanish, and because Hispanic culture is growing globally, you can see why it's prudent to opt for it as a second language.

It's certainly true that if you can speak Spanish, you'll be able to interact with people in more situations. For example, if you develop friendships or a romantic relationship with someone in a Hispanic family (or if one of your relatives does), it will be good to know how to speak Spanish. Or perhaps you have Spanish-speaking families in your neighborhood, have Spanish-speaking employees or employers, or simply have situations in which you are going to have to interact with those who speak Spanish during the course of a normal day. In addition to that, Hispanic communities give us many rich and flavorful foods, which means that it's even more intelligent of you to embrace both Spanish as a second language and Spanish culture.

If you don't have the time to register for a Spanish language course, you can choose to do independent study at home. With these programs, you can learn Spanish as your schedule permits. Some of these courses, such as Pimsleur Spanish are only available in audio; these are good if you just need to learn to speak the language, but don't need to learn to read the language. However, it's likely that you're going to want to do both. If this is true, you're going to want to look at a more comprehensive program such as Rocket Spanish or Rosetta Stone Spanish that teaches you to both read and speak the language. Additionally, you will retain more with an interactive.program than with one that does not require interaction.