I am a substitute teacher and I think learning spanish will be a helpful tool for a permanent job at the school.
I learned a good deal of Spanish, just living in California, and working with mostly hispanics.  I think the best way to learn Spanish is to be around nothing but Spanish-speaking natives.  You would learn Spanish the fastest, by studying a Spanish book (from your schools library or Spanish class) and taking a 6 month vacation to a non-tourist area of Mexico, and just try to make some friends.  This may not be practical, but you would learn the dilects and 'figures of speech' etc. that cannot be taught in a textbook.
QUOTE:\n\n"It seems to me that these high profile illegal immigration supporters are trying to re-define our language..."\n\nSpot on, buddy !\n\nLanguage shapes thought.  Propagandists have used this subtle craft to effect throughout history.\n\nGet educated about this age-old problem, it may surprise.\n\nExamples I could use are politically incorrect here.\n\nhttp://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6303