6 Reasons you Should Talk to Strangers in Spanish
Practicing your Spanish is one of the things you’re going to have to do if you want to cross the border from 
I took 2 years of college Spanish territory to the country of I can fluently converse in this language.
You should take every opportunity you have to speak with someone in Spanish, and use it for your benefit. You might start with just a word or a comment, and the other person will most likely welcome the conversation.
How to start? It’s as easy as “Hola”, “Buenos Días”, “Hace mucho frío”, “Hace mucho calor”, or “Gracias”.
If you do this you’ll start reaping the benefits.
Benefits of striking up conversation with strangers
1. You meet new people, and possibly even gain new friends.
2. You will get more respect– others who have a fear of talking to strangers will respect you more, as well as your interlocutor.
3. You’ll learn new things. The person you’re talking with has interests, ideas, and goals. Finding out what they think will open doors for you and you’ll learn all kinds of things.
4. Every time you do it, it will become easier. You will start overcoming fear if you’re fearful of speaking with strangers, and if it simply makes you uncomfortable, once you’re used to it, that uneasiness will be gone.
5. There’s really no risk– after all, you don’t know the person, so what would it possibly matter if they think poorly of you?
6. Your Spanish will improve. Every chance you get to speak with someone in Spanish is another chance for your conversational skills to improve.
So, when was the last time you talked with a complete stranger in Spanish? When was the last time you talked to anyone in Spanish?
I had this problem a while back…I was terrified of talking to people in Spanish. I guess there was a fear of screwing up or not being able to understand if they said something back. I dunno, it was pretty silly. I eventually overcame my fears and now find it incredible to talk to people in Spanish, even if it’s just some basic conversation or phrases . Afterwards I feel like I accomplished something, and that my hard work was paying off.
Great post.
I have this problem. I know a lot more now than I did three months ago, but I am afraid that I will irritate people because I have to ask them to slow down or repeat themselves, or better yet, they’re using words I haven’t learned yet. I am getting better. I’m blonde-haired and blue-eyed. I love the surprised look I get when I throw out some Spanish to the Mexicans in San Diego. I try to speak Spanish every day, but it’s usually not to a stranger. I will strive more to do that. Thank you!
tomisimo
Zach, I’m glad you’re over your fears. Speaking in Spanish is the only way you can practice it.
Brenda, I don’t think you’ll ever irritate people when you try to speak in their language. If they are really in a hurry, they might answer in English, but otherwise they will usually be ecstatic that you’re taking the time and effort to learn their language. Of course you don’t have to speak with strangers, you can speak with people you know, BUT if you DO speak with strangers, then soon they will be people you know as well.
This is perhaps the toughest message to convey to students in middle and high school. Language is about communication, and learning is about engagement.
Thank you, D, for posting this.
Yes, Miss Profe sums it up perfectly when she says “language is about communication and learning is about engagement.” Too many people want to speak the foreign language they are learning at the same level as their native language. But that type of fluency doesn’t happen overnight. It takes hard work and a willingness to make a little bit of a fool out of oneself at times. (Check out the link before to see what I mean.)
Hang in there!!
http://spanish-podcast.com/…no-big-deal/
Oops! Excuse the typo. I meant to say “the link below”.
tomisimo
Bilingual Blogger, yes it takes hard work, lots of time, a few embarrassing mistakes, and a little pinch of talent to become fluent in a foreign language.
Miss Profe, language is definitely about communication… one thing I’ve found really useful is putting people in situations where they have to use their target language for meaningful communication in real life– in other words using Spanish to accomplish or obtain something needed and urgent– not saying “¿Dónde está el lápiz? El lápiz está en la mesa”.
Do you know how many words has spanish language?Please ,if anyone knows the answer send me a e-mail.Thanks
David, I completely agree with you that most times the fastest way to learn a language is by being in situations where the target language is needed for meaningful real life communication.
I moved to Spain two years ago with absolutely no knowledge of the spanish language. The first couple of months were really dificult, I couldn´t go grocery shopping, to the doctor´s or even watch TV without looking for someone to translate.
Talk about need and motivation. But I knew I had to learn to move around on my own and do things by myself without disrupting the schedule of friends and families. It was a necessity. A real life need to communicate meaningfuly in real life situations. Besides I had already fallen in love with the city of Madrid.
I´ve got my fair share of embarassing mistakes or as Bilingual Blogger so nicely puts it making a fool out of myself, I´m very determined though to achieve a certain level of fluency and I think I´m doing pretty well (if I say so myself).
I´m still learning, but I tell you I´ve got all the motivation I need.
tomisimo
Thanks for the comment Jane, and sorry it took so long to approve it.
And I’m glad to see you have lots of (the right kinds of) motivation to help you learn Spanish, and judging by your forum posts, your learning is going quite well.
Hopefully some day I’ll be able to visit Spain and Madrid.
David,
Speaking to strangers in any foreign language is a great way to learn a new language. Students need to get over their fears and start speaking.
You’ll improve your speaking and listening fluency and learn more vocabulary. Great advice David.
http://www.letutor.com - Spanish class in Phoenix, AZ
tomisimo
Hi there Aaron, Long time no see.
I hope everything’s going well for you over at LeTutor.
David,
It has been a long time. How are things going? I was just catching up on some of your blog posts and this one struck me.
Mosts students problems revert to not enough practice and their are 2 reasons.
1. Not enough access to Spanish speakers.
2. Fear of speaking to Spanish speakers.
Both can be overcome.
1. Search really hard. In the US it is easy to find a group of Spanish speakers somewhere or to take classes.
2. Everyone makes mistakes. I’m sure you don’t make fun of someone or think less of them when they are learning to speak English. Spanish speakers will think it is great that you are trying.