I've been asked to recommend a good self learning Spanish course. I recently completed one myself 'Spanish in 30 days' by Sociedad general espanola de libreria, it's better than nothing I guess but it's nothing special so I wouldn't recommend it.

I've seen some good threads in the past here but I'm damned if I can find them using the search function now

Anyway I guess I'm looking for advice for both myself and this new friend of mine. Our levels are a bit different. I'm probably at a poor B1 level now (pre-intermediate) while her level is elementary I guess so I'd be grateful for any help.
Thanks.

There are so many courses on the market that I am not surprised that you are asking which are the best but of course as usual one person will recommend something and then someone else will say that it is rubbish. What is the style of learning that you prefer. Do you like visual aids, listening or reading and repetition.

One group of books that I have found that have good explanations and are also very reasonable are "Practice Makes Perfect". Easy to buy from Amazon UK.

Rosemary

Thanks Rosemary - I did some test before to show what type of learner I am and it said I was an aural learner and I definitely don't feel the need to take endless notes and don't obsess with grammar like some people, so I'd say listening and repetition would be my main ways of learning, but I do think we need to learn in as many ways as possible. As a newbie English teacher that's what I think anyway .

I'll take a look at those Practice Makes Perfect books then.

I've been using the Pimsleur Spanish Complete Course & the Rosetta Stone course. They seem to work well.
Good luck

There is 3 I can recommend all different though

Rosetta stone, expensive but free on android devices at the moment, Babbel the same free at the moment,

I have not used Babbel much, rosetta stone is good and it is fun too, and to send your self to sleep is Michel Thomas

The Michel Thomas for confidence definatley do the first 2 lessons because it will be a confidence boost, then if your ok with that carry it on and use Rosetta stone or Babbel aswell,

I learnt more from Michel Thomas in one hour than I did going to any classes, i tried it all but to begin they have to be the front runners,

There is also a slang version which is quite good too if you want to learn the foul language

I learnt most from Michel Thomas, but it is really dull, and I didn't like the way he was using none native speakers. If you can stomach it, it covers the most detail by far. Paul Noble uses a similar technique and native speakers, but not as in depth. Would be good for a beginner or refresher. Duolingo is my current favourite, android ios or web. Helps to see it written down.

I've tried loads, but I'm just not good at languages so until we get out to Spain and start using it daily with native speakers then there seems to be a limit as to how quickly I learn.

I found the free podcasts from Notes in Spanish really useful for learning to understand conversational Spanish. Handy to stick on the MP3 player when traveling to and from work.

I am using Paul Noble I find it easier to follow and not as dull as Michelle Thomas which I also have and may well move back to later because as you say more detailed. Rosetta Stone I find quite good apart from the pronunciation part is far too pedantic for me and spoils the course. I know you can turn it off but it just then becomes an expensive flash card system.

I bought a book called Linkwords many years ago. I'm not sure whether it's still available. It was a great little book and got me started with a large vocabulary very quickly. Then I went on to learn at night school. But I still love the idea of linkwords. You never forget a word you've learned that way. especially if yopu're the visual memory type. It's to do with putting a visual memory with a word.
The first word I ever learned Cajon = Drawer you learn it by imagining or making the sound of a car horn (that's just about the way it's pronounced) as you open a drawer. Try it 3 times...you'll never forget it!

It was brought out on DVD´s and sold via a shopping channel a few years ago. Not sure whether it is still available or how it can be bought though.

Rosemary

I personally wouldn't advise anyone to pay for expensive courses, there's a mountain of free stuff on the web from complete beginner to advanced levels. Better to spend the money on evening classes or the like if you feel you must spend money, add to that my old favourite, skype language exchange, they are free.

All the stuff available is ok. as an aid but I haven't heard anyone speaking decent Spanish who have used only those. Formal lessons are needed too...by experienced teachers.

I did see on a forum someone wanting a translator...he had been living in Spain 9 years

I couldn't agree more. I also think that once you get to a certain level, intercambios with a native speaker are invaluable in improving your conversational skills. Not much use to a beginner though, you would run out of things to say after a couple of minutes!

There are so many to choose from. I would suggest BBC online and the course currently used to teach Spanish @ FE colleges, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Access-Spani.../dp/0340882956

Rosetta Stone is head and shoulders above the others. But it does take a lot of commitment and it is expensive - though you'd think there would be s/h copies around, since once you've "learned" it you don't need to keep hold of the material. You also need a PC with a microphone (and maybe headphones, too) as it makes you speak and checks your pronunciation is acceptable. There's also a lot of repetition in the lessons.

I tried the Michel Thomas CDs. He makes some grand claims, but it seemed to be to be very one-sided. Yes, he teaches you a lot of vocabulary, but the hardest part of learning a language is listening, not speaking and he misses that part out completely.