Ah, learning languages. I started "speaking" English at the age of 14, it was my 3rd language. School has helped, Internet has helped. I am in my late 20s now and I have three more languages lined up. Unfortunately, I haven't mastered any of them. Me and my husband speak English at home because he hasn't learned my language and I... I speak some of his language, but it is so crippled I am embarrassed about it. Ah, Europe.

I know some people who learned a foreign language in a year. You have to be committed to learning it otherwise it will not work. I have failed some language courses a couple of years ago just because I didn't have enough time to study for them. I still think I speak only 3 languages because the other 3 are in limbo. I still use them when we travel though.

Learning it from somebody didn't work for me. I didn't pick up my husband's language from my husband because when we are together we want to have a conversation and that can be done only in English. I know, sounds like a silly excuse. We enjoy playing scrabble in his language though. I spend quite some time in his country with his family and still don't speak the language.

Having this said I think the most efficient option is to join a good language course and invest yourself into it. Other options are working online - I am sure you can find some cheap or even free resources for that and finding Spanish-speaking friends who speak very little English. Age seems to be a factor too. My mother is bilingual and she is struggling with English big time. She is in her mid-60s.

Have you thought of changing states? It sounds like you might be living in the South. I have only been to the North of the US and it didn't feel like not knowing Spanish there is a problem.