There are myriad reasons that someone might decide to learn another language. Maybe you love French cinema, or Japanese manga. Perhaps you want to be able to converse with the locals on your trip abroad. You might have to use it for work, or perhaps Cupid’s arrow has struck with someone from another country. You need to pass a school exam. Or maybe you just want to get out of the house and meet new people.
I would say before you pick up the books or look into study methods the first thing to do is get a definitive answer to the above. Once you have your motivation, it will affect how you learn your new language. Will you get opportunities to visit the country where the language is spoken, or do you have access to a community of speakers of your target language? Do you like the safety net of following a course and the routine of a class once a week, or are you an independent learner? Do you want to get to grips with the language or just order from a menu and ask for directions? Or do you want to improve your exam grade? Hint: it’s quite possible to get a good grade in exams but not actually be able to speak the language. However if you understand the language you will, by definition, get good grades. 
There are no wrong answers here, as everyone’s motivation and learning style varies. It does pay to be aware of the above though, and also be prepared for the answers to change as your language journey progresses. It can become addictive. What started out as a 10 week course in Holiday Spanish could be the start of an adventure to pack up your life to move to the Costas. Or not. But don’t be surprised if you want to continue your learning after the course has finished.
Here are some ways that you could begin your language learning journey (in no particular order):
Online tuition
Face to face tuition with a private tutor
Self-study languge course (you might be able to borrow one before committing financially)
Evening class at community college
Distance learning (combines the self study with the discipline of a course)
Casual arrangement with speaker of your target language (meet for coffee, they practise their English, you practise your Spanish, for example)
Local cultural group/exchange
Intensive immersion course abroad (scary for some, but recommended if you want to fast-forward your learning)
Visiting websites aimed at learners of your target language
Of course there is nothing from stopping you from using a combination of these methods to accelerate your learning, the more variety the better. One friend of mine found out that indulging in reading trashy novels in French improved her language, and although I don’t usually watch that much TV at home, I really got into “Buffy contre les vampires” and “Ally McBeal” during my time abroad… since they were dubbed into French I had the excuse that I was improving my language skills. What’s important is that it suits you, your life and your personality.
Have fun with it!
