A good way to get started for very little is to buy one of the great books out there also. I learned from Ray Martin's "The 99 Critical Shots in Pool" which I recommend to anyone. It goes in a very logical order from stop shots to follow to draw, then to how sidespin changes the path from a rail, and finally to sidespin nuances like throw etc.
Some small things that I think are important to understand when learning and practicing english:
- Maximum english (whether top, bottom, left, right, or some mixture) is gotten when the cue tip hits halfway between the center of the cueball and its edge. Hitting even further to the side makes the shot more difficult, increases the chances of a miscue, and doesn't increase the spin at all - so don't do it. Hitting closer to center is OK, it will still have some effect... it just won't be as strong.
- Top (follow) and bottom (draw) are the most important and should be learned before any kind of sidespin. When you're playing correctly, most of your shots can be done without sidespin, because sidespin has a variety of weird effects that make the shot harder. Learn to control the cueball with follow and draw, and then get into sidespin once you can do those at will.
- Sidespin is used (most of the time) to control what happens to the cueball AFTER it hits a rail. You don't apply sidespin to move the cueball in a certain direction. The direction it moves at first is mostly determined by how it cuts the other ball. Only once it touches a rail will sidespin make a big difference in the path the cueball takes. So if you have a straight in shot, don't smack the cueball with left english thinking you can make the cueball move to the left. It should just spin in place if your cueball hit the dead center of the object ball, even if you put extreme sidespin.
- All english (but especially sidespin, especially when the ball is coming off a rail) 'takes' better at slower speeds. But sometimes you need to put some speed on a shot to get a position. So sometimes it's a tradeoff. Try softer shots during practice so you can really see the english kick in.
- Shoot follow, draw, and sidespin shots all the same way, with a flat cue and a smooth follow through. Do not get tricked into thinking you need to do some special extra movement to make english take. You don't need to snap the tip downward or shoot at an angle to make draw work. You don't get extra spin by swinging the cue tip sideways when you hit with sidespin. You don't need to do a short choppy stroke or snapping motion to make the cueball stop dead. Just shoot the same way every time, and simply alter your bridge so that the cue tip is pointing at different places when you shoot. The rest is just speed control and a smooth stroke.
I don't wanna bury you in writing so I'll leave it at this, but if you want to know more or want drill suggestions I can go on. And on and on and on