I work at a place where most people speak Spanish, and I want to be able to hold conversations with them. I’ve watched a couple of YouTube videos, but I haven’t been able to retain the information. I need to write down flashcards and notes. I’m wondering, and I don’t mind if it’s proprietary, what is the best and fastest way to learn Spanish?
Spanish is my native tongue, so this might not work as well as I expect it to, but Pimsleur courses are GREAT to get quick phrases and learning to think in the language. They try to teach you very close to how native speakers learn it, and because of the repetition you tend to remember most of it.
That being said most of their content is focused on visiting a different country, so you might not need the very basic phrases like “I’m American, I don’t speak <language>”, but they give you an idea on how the language is structured.
Finally, while Pimsleur and many other suggestions here are great, it varies from person to person so you might need to find what works best for you.