So you finally decided you will have to learn Spanish. Have you decided how you will go about learning the language? Admittedly there are several ways. You could ask a friend to teach you, enroll in a Spanish tutorial class, buy do-it–yourself DVD’s or a CD that gives Spanish tutorial lessons. Whatever method you decide to use, you should have an English-Spanish dictionary, preferably the one authored by Merriam-Webster. You may argue that it is not necessary since there are a lot of other sources on-line to get word meanings. But what if your internet connection malfunctions? You might be in a place where cell phone connections are not available or are intermittent, making it tedious if not irritating to connect to the Web. You should not worry about portability though because compact and lightweight editions are always are available in your favorite neighborhood bookstore.

We recommend another kind of book that you should always have around, a verb conjugation book. While learning the language, you will often have to consult this book for the proper conjugation of Spanish verbs. Unlike other major languages, like English for instance, the rules of conjugating Spanish verbs are quite complicated; making it difficult, if not impossible to memorize each and every form and verb. As a matter of fact, even native Spanish speakers always have with them a verb conjugation book for their easy reference when they encounter some difficult Spanish verbs. Again, there many books by as many authors available about verb conjugation, but we strongly recommend Barron’s Spanish Verbs for your use.

Are you planning to go on a business or vacation trip to Spain, Mexico, Brazil or any of the South American states or probably Cuba? Well, you also should have to learn about the current Spanish slang so you will not sound queer when you speak Spanish. Just like any other language, Spanish has its share of slang expressions which periodically change. For this purpose, we ask you to take a look at Michael Mahler’s Dictionary of Spanish Slang, we pretty sure you will like it.

To farther enhance what you learn from reading books, you should also polish your pronunciation of Spanish words, a CD or DVD will surely come in handy or a good Spanish software. Always keep in mind that learning a new language requires both persistence and patience.