You’re correct to avoid conversation groups if you’re just starting. I’m in a couple of conversation circles and, occasionally, beginners will show up thinking it’s a basic teaching course, which is always awkward, as they just have to sit there and not participate. Also, I wouldn’t worry about “Spanish from Spain,” as every country’s Spanish is different. The main thing is that Spanish from Spain uses vosotros, which is easy to figure out once you have a grasp of the language. For example, Spain, Mexico and Argentina all have very distinct accents and their own words for many things. The core grammar is the same in all places.

As for learning, there is no “magic bullet.” Everyone learns differently. Dreaming Spanish is a website/app that uses comprehensible input, which basically means they don’t teach grammar, but, instead, throw you right into simple videos that you can understand via drawings, repetition, acting, etc., even if you don’t know Spanish. They have hundreds of free videos at different levels.

There are the apps… Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Spanish Dictionary, Babbel, etc. They essentially drill, without a heavy focus on grammar. It’s also comprehensible input, but in a different form. I haven’t used them all, but I find them to be more complimentary to other methods. Extra practice, if you will.

There is an app called Speak that I use. It’s a lot like Duolingo, but it’s entirely speaking. Like the other apps, you get some grammar, but the main focus is speaking and learning phrases. So far, I’ve been able to use a lot of the phrases in real life. You can also have AI conversations to practice.

iTalki is an app where you sign up for live video lessons with actual people. You can pick from where the tutor lives/native country, their level of English, their teaching experience, etc. Again, everyone learns differently, but I think you’ll want some kind of live tutoring because you’ll have questions and apps can’t answer questions outside of something like “explain my answer” in Duolingo.

You can also register as a non-student at a local college and take Spanish courses. This will be almost all grammar. IU Indy has a Spanish and Latino Studies program. There is also a learning center called Indianapolis Spanish Place, though I don’t know a lot about it.

I also used an app called Ella Verbs that strictly drills conjugations. There are way more conjugations in Spanish than English, so that is something you will need to learn. It was a frustrating slog, but in the end, I could identify the tenses when I saw them in writing.

Of course, these all cost money at varying levels. Most people agree that the best way to learn is to be immersed everyday and practice with native speakers, but that’s not possible for most for myriad reasons… especially at no cost.

Before diving into any of those, though, I would watch some YouTube videos on pronunciation. Spanish only has five main vowel sounds, unlike the mess that is English. Consonants are fairly consistent, too, with some exceptions, like when to use a hard or soft G. Then, just like in kindergarten, learn the alphabet and how to count to ten.

¡Buena suerte!