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I'm not certain what kind of textbooks you can get a hold of in Ecuador, so how about online resources? There are a lot of websites that are very useful in providing you with a good general overview and start to Spanish grammar.

Check these out:
Studyspanish.com is quite good as a first grammar guide. Very concise, and not overwhelming.
Spanishdict.com is a really good online Spanish dictionary. They also have grammar videos/exercises, which I linked to you here.

In my opinion, don't worry much about perfecting grammar from the get-go. Read these grammar guides so you could get somewhat of an idea of how Spanish sentences are constructed, but don't be hard on yourself if you can't remember everything. As you read and immerse yourself more in the language, you'll slowly get a better idea of the grammatical structures in Spanish. Cliche, but it'll take time.

I highly recommend the Learning Spanish Like Crazy audiobook. Start it right after you get through the Study Spanish grammar guide. It teaches you practical Spanish that you can use right away in your everyday conversations. It's really really good! There's also volume 2 and volume 3 for when you complete the first volume.

As you're working through that, you could consider working on this verb workbook at the same time (I believe there are free downloads online), and also Duolingo for exercises in verbs, grammar, and vocab.

Afterwards, maybe check out Verbling for free Spanish classes online that you can join and for finding more conversation partners.

To practise listening, you can download podcasts from iTunes. I found Coffee Time Spanish to be a good one. There's also Extr@, which is a series aimed towards beginners. Turn on the subs and follow along. The acting is pretty ridiculous in the beginning, but it does give you some confidence when you find that you understand everything. The only thing with this is that they use Spanish from Spain, so the accent is different from those of South American countries.

You're not in school (at least as a student haha) so don't feel confined to textbooks and having to do everything the traditional classroom way! Language-learning should be a fun and enjoyable process, and there are a lot of different ways to do it. Also, conversing with native speakers is indeed currently your most valuable resource. Since you're there, take advantage! Talk to people in Spanish using whatever you know/learn that day. Every learner is a beginner at some point, so don't be afraid.

Looking forward to the intermediate-level-resources-seeking post. :) Good luck!

Some years ago, I wrote a screenplay for a short film about a cursed Aztec sword that was found by a Young man in modern times, and he fought against all kind of monsters and creatures from Mexican folklore and mythology.

This was never filmed, but we took a lot of conceptual pictures, and some friends made a few drawings, we even build a real black macuahuitl.

Using this old drawings (with the approval of the friends who drew it), I finished the prologue of the story, in storybook form. It’s a very short story, and I made it bilingual, so people who knows english or spanish are able to read it.

It has 16 pages with drawings, but the digital version will be free until tuesday, so, if someone wants to download it, I’ll add the links on Amazon Mexico and Amazon US (It's free in every marketplace).

Thank you for taking the time to read this, downloading it, and giving me your opinion.

Black Macuahuitl on Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JR4SCMF

Black Macuahuitl on Amazon MX: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B07JR4SCMF

This one is a little bit more advanced

http://www.amazon.com/curioso-incidente-medianoche-Letras-Bolsillo/dp/8498383730

But I still thinking is a good reading for an adult. It's like is written by a child with Asperger so everything is extremely well explained and I think it's easy to understand. But the concept and the story is quite profound and interesting to keep an adult hooked. It's not a book for children.

You can find the original version in English as well
http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Incident-Dog-Night-Time/dp/1400032717/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1444137697/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527170727&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=a+new+reference+grammar+of+modern+spanish&dpPl=1&dpID=41bTv%2BMiftL&ref=plSrch

This is a dense heavy book, but I'd argue a must have. Advanced level means advanced workouts, so it's not going to hold your hand with exercises to fill out. But it's exhaustive in what it covers. I mainly just use it for reference, but you could try taking it a chapter/subject at a time.

I'd recommend writing/speaking lots of practice sentences for each topic to really internalize them. You could use a site like italki or the like to have a native speaker double check your examples.

One month is about how long it took me to finish the Spanish Duolingo. I did learn a good bit, and it refreshed my knowledge a lot.

The Schaum's Outline series is aimed at people who have already studied a language and want a compact refresher. I found it was a great companion to Duolingo. http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Spanish-Grammar-Edition/dp/0071830413

Good luck!

Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Verb Tenses

Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions

I've been using these and they've been so helpful. I like workbooks because I can write in them. Plus super cheap ($10)

I would work through a basic Spanish reader like this one, which costs less than $10, coupled with a good grammar like this one. Make sure to read each story OUT LOUD as many times as you need to until you can understand it without referring to the vocabulary. If you are unsure of pronunciation, just go to es.forvo.com. Aim for 30 minutes per day and you will be sitting pretty. ¡Buena suerte!

Don't have any PDF links for you, but I will say RE: Rosetta Stone...

You can get many of the same resources for free on Duolingo. But it depends what kind of Spanish`you want to learn. For example, if it's Iberian Spanish (Castellano, Spanish Spanish) then duolingo might not be such a safe bet because the Spanish on there is based mostly on the Latin American dialects.

If it's physical books you're into, this is my bible. I have found it so comprehensive and it fills in some gaps nicely. But perhaps also get this to give you a nice grounding in the grammar and syntax.

Here is our first year Uni grammar book, which reaches out to level B1. For full on conversations you would need about B2, which can take a year or two or several months in España itself. If you master that grammar you are well on your way though, the corrections are in the back.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/8484437264/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472902178&sr=8-1-fkmr2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=grammatica+estudiante+espanol

If you can handle the base line being in French www.espagnolfacile.com is a great site to test specific elements. All users can make tests and theory parts with explanations and corrections, it's free.

Try to find vocab books that also fit into the levels (yours seem to be unbased at first glance), we used Vente 1 and 2 apart from direct tutoring but these might be too much of a class setting for you.

The common reference system isn't perfect, but it is properly worked out with competence ranks. If you are willing to read up on it, this is an extensive pdf on the matter. It is a method on the platter, conceived by some very bright minds and many years of pan-European research.

A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish by John Butt and Carmen Benjamin is amazing. It has everything in it in excruciating detail. Well researched with examples from Spanish press and literature throughout the world. There is some slang in there, but not because they want you to learn slang; it's simply incidental to how grammar constructions are used in the real world. I imagine the new fifth edition has even more documentation and clarity.

edit: clarity

I really like Easy Spanish: Step by Step. There's a lot of great vocabulary and exercises (if you're into that), and short stories to read that if you're following along you should be able to comprehend entirely. Oh! and it's cheap!

I've been using [Practice Makes Perfect Complete Spanish Grammar, 2nd Edition] (http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Perfect-Complete-Spanish-Grammar/dp/0071763430/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422290914&sr=1-4&keywords=practice+makes+perfect+spanish) It is more of a workbook than a textbook but I have found the explanations to be good for the little bit that I have used it.

A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish Grammar

It isn't tailored to any exams, nor it is it a textbook, but it has EVERYTHING you could possibly need to know about Spanish grammar.

I also agree with /u/ImovedtoEurope's suggestion of Repase y Escriba. You can get the older versions for about $10 on Amazon.

I really like Gramática Básica del Estudiante de Español... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/8484437264/

One of the few Spanish text books that I would recommend.

I have a ton of resources. I'm currently working through the book Easy Spanish Step by Step but I also have Complete Spanish Grammar. I'm also doing Pimsleur, Duolingo, and the language transfer course. It's been taking me a long time to get through each of these since my time is split between each.

I can't say any of these are tailored towards conversational practice though. Do you know any beginner books that are good for that?

How about El Curioso Incidente del Perro a Medianoche?

I know it was originally written in English but it has beginners (ish) vocabulary and the chapters are very short, which I personally prefer anyway :)

http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Mexico-Historias-Second-Edition/dp/0071701761 these are fun, and there are several other editions with different legends

If that's the kind of thing your friend wants to read about:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/8497593790/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1427078043&sr=1-2

Related: I found this to be a good beginner level book. It uses short sentences and the reading level is not very complicated. Plus, the English version is on the left side.

I have always really liked this book: http://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Students-Spanish-Learning/dp/0934034303

I just finished this workbook and found it hugely helpful. https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Perfect-Spanish-Pronouns-Prepositions/dp/1259586324

A New Reference of Modern Spanish Grammar

Suuuuuper good.

​

I always liked this

As a reference guide I use this

Oh! And two more resources specific to spanish:

1. The Practice Makes Perfect Series: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Perfect-Complete-Spanish-Grammar/dp/0071763430
   
2. Spanish FunEasyLearn (looks janky, but really good): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.funeasylearn.spanish&hl=en

I recommend A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish.

https://www.amazon.com/Frequency-Dictionary-Spanish-Vocabulary-Dictionaries/dp/0415334292

You can find the Spanish-language paperback version on the US Amazon site here (pricey!):

https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Stephen-King/dp/8497593790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505584429&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+king+It+spanish

https://www.amazon.com/ESO-EDICION-PELICULA-STEPHEN-KING/dp/6073156618/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505584429&sr=8-2&keywords=stephen+king+It+spanish

These have reallly helped me with grammar and reading.

Use this book for grammar.

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/8497593790/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1427078043&sr=1-2

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

Me encanta English Grammar for Students of Spanish.

https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/8484437264/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 A1-B2

https://www.amazon.es/Gram%C3%A1tica-uso-del-Espa%C3%B1ol-B1-B2/dp/8467521082/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/259-2826942-4046445?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=8467521082&pd_rd_r=5f350c5a-a192-11e9-a4a1-6ff0f7726358&pd_rd_w=TRCj6&pd_rd_wg=PmHWB&pf_rd_p=f9384d3f-fa3d-4e25-8bc3-b0c7853cd8a6&pf_rd_r=ZAXDGZ5J1EQ7ETX5V7NM&psc=1&refRID=ZAXDGZ5J1EQ7ETX5V7NM B1-B2

​

https://www.amazon.es/Gram%C3%A1tica-uso-del-espa%C3%B1ol-pr%C3%A1ctica/dp/8467521090/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/259-2826942-4046445?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=8467521090&pd_rd_r=71efd16f-a192-11e9-b943-47f94e650a10&pd_rd_w=MCpwu&pd_rd_wg=ypji8&pf_rd_p=f9384d3f-fa3d-4e25-8bc3-b0c7853cd8a6&pf_rd_r=V9ZMT9EPD8N11QCK6KW8&psc=1&refRID=V9ZMT9EPD8N11QCK6KW8 C1-C2

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^cuac Amazon.

If you're not very advanced https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071463380/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_image_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use this, it's ok, has helped me so far.