I am very interested in learning Spanish as a second language.  I have
a bunch of free time and would like to know which books or tapes have
the best result.  A top 5 list would be fine.  Have a friend who is
also willing to tutor me.

Hello, learning a language is a long and complicated task. I'm
currently studying the language in school and I have found the
following tasks to be the most helpful.

Learn Vocabulary. If you know how to conjugate verbs, the differences
between por and para, and can tell the subjunctive from the indicative
but don't know what you're saying that isn't going to help you that
much. I'd reccomend studying vocab on your own since it's something
that can be achieved through basic memorization. There's nothing as
satisfying as knowing the right words to form a sentence.

That being said, it's advisable to learn some basic grammar. Grammar
is best learned with someone who actually knows the language.
Generally speaking there are exceptions, and rules that the book
doesn't explain well but a native speaker can.

Tapes are good for learning pronounciation, which is important. You'll
probably learn better from books because you can look at all the
examples and rules on one page without having to rewind a tape. Books
are nice because they're portable and don't need a special device to
play them. Tapes are nice if you have to drive, however people tend to
zone out when listening so you might find that tapes aren't as useful.
I would definitely reccomend going with books.

If you're going to actually learn the language, get a textbook.
Getting a book titled "Learn Spanish in 24 Hours" probably won't be
that effective and will concentrate only on the absolute basics.
Textbooks are designed to take you from the most rudimentary skills to
fluency. A good textbook will also provide material for you to
practice with as well as stories using the material that you've
learned. If you find a textbook that comes with it, I reccomend
getting a workbook. They're excellent for practice. You can do it with
your free time and then have your friend go over it with you to see
what you missed.

If you're not sure what textbook to use I'd suggest going to your
local elementary or high school and seeing what books they offer. Ask
the Spanish teacher (if they have one) what they think the best book
would be. He has taught the language to many students so he should
have a good idea what books would work for what you want to learn and
what books won't.

I'd reccomend the following books.
Situaciones By Valette & Valette Carrera-Hanley
This book is an excellent book for learning grammar. It's more
advanced so you may not want to start with it.

The school I attend up until recently used a series called Juntos.
It's a decent series that starts out with the very basics and will
take you up to what you need to know to pass an Advanced Placement
exam. Juntos is from Prentice Hall.

Finally, you're going to want to get a good dictionary. Almost any one
will do for now. A word of advice about using dictionaries: Always
double check to make sure you have the right definition of a word. If
you're looking up an english word in spanish, check the spanish
translation in english to make sure that it still makes sense. You
don't want to look up the english word "cup" in spanish only to find
out you've found the word for a piece of sports equipment!

I hope this helps you, and good luck! Learning a new language is wonderful.

I've been using the method Barry Farber proposes in "How to Learn Any
Language".  I know, it sounds like a 'lose 20 pounds in a week' kind
of book, but it actually has the best method I've seen, but it takes
dedication.  First, buy a grammer book ($20-$90?), and read the first
five chapters, making sure you understand every paragraph.  Then as a
reward for finishing those, you can start listening and speaking.  You
should, if nothing else, get the Pimsleur CDs ($14 on Amazon).  They
help you remember the language much better than the listen and repeat
types.  Then you can buy a Spanish/English dictionary(Oxford $12), and
get a newspaper, or a bunch of online articles in Spanish and try to
read an article.  Highlight the words you don't know and look for the
word or a conjugate of it in the dictionary, and add it to your
flashcard vocabulary.  You might have every word highlighted in the
first paragraph, but there will be noticeably fewer highlighted words
in subsequent paragraphs.  Make a list of questions that come up from
your grammer, article, etc., and whip them out to ask your friend. 
Also important is to take advantage of any opportunities you have to
speak with people who speak the language better than you.  Native
speakers are best, but any will do.  Too often, people, including me,
draw a blank when faced with real conversation in another language. 
Practicing with others will help you think of words quicker, and help
you be more comfortable in that language.  When I just stuck to
self-study, I got really nervous communicating in Spanish, and forgot
basic vocab.  After a while, it starts to get exciting to see what you
can do.  More helpful details are in the book ($10).  Don't get
frustrated too easy, and good luck!

Hi,

I am a Spanish teacher from England. I teach in a secondary school in
Liverpool, but also have a web site:

http://acceleratedspanish.tripod.com

I hope that this might be of help to you.

I would recommend the Michel Thomas audio courses also.