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?
Anki or similar for flashcards if you want an app. Physically writing things tends to yield better results for most people, so I used to do flashcards and write my answer and, after a few cards, make a sentence out of that.
Get a book or take a course on grammar (many different ways to accomplish this depending upon budget and learning style that works best for you).
Constantly be getting input, even if you don’t understand it.
Shadowing – what comes out of your mouth might sound very different to what you want to say. Work on that accent, intonation, etc.
All of the above were actually about learning Japanese (my 3rd foreign language) and I guess German (my second) to a lesser degree. The only thing I’m aware of with Spanish is that the varieties can differ a lot between Spain and the new world, so you might want to make sure you consume resources related to that.