Preparing for your first conversation in Spanish

Your first conversation in Spanish may be hesitant. It may also go better than you expect. The person, subject and setting matter, so choose a situation in which you have room to take part.

Aim to exchange a little real information and understand the response.

Choose a manageable setting

You have more support in a quiet conversation with someone who knows you are learning than in a busy group discussion. A tutor, language partner, patient friend or family member can all be suitable. What matters is whether you can agree on the kind of practice you want.

You might ask to speak Spanish for a short part of the conversation and switch languages when needed. If you want corrections, say whether you prefer them during the exchange or afterwards.

Other people’s time and preferences matter too. A shop assistant handling a queue may not have the opportunity to help you practise, even if the interaction is friendly.

Prepare a topic

Choose something you can talk about truthfully: your work, a meal, a recent trip or what you did at the weekend. Prepare a few words and a short opening. Think of a question you can ask in return.

For example, El sábado cociné con mi pareja. Hicimos sopa. ¿A ti te gusta cocinar? is something for the other person to respond to. A couple of sentences and a question are enough.

Listen to examples of likely questions before the conversation. If you prepare only what you will say, you can be unprepared for even a simple follow-up.

Have ways to ask for help

With these phrases you can deal with a difficulty directly:

Spanish	Use
¿Puedes repetirlo, por favor?	Ask someone to repeat it
¿Puedes hablar un poco más despacio?	Ask for slower speech
¿Qué significa esa palabra?	Ask what a word means
¿Cómo se dice “appointment” en español?	Ask for a word you need
¿Quieres decir que…?	Check your interpretation

These examples are in the informal singular tú form. With usted, use puede and quiere where appropriate.

Ask about the part you missed if you can identify it. Confirming a time or a person’s meaning is more useful than nodding without understanding.

Give yourself time to answer

A pause is allowed. You can describe a word you cannot retrieve, use a simpler sentence or check a translation. That way you keep the exchange moving and see what would be useful to practise later.

In study you can prepare vocabulary, grammar and listening. In conversation you also respond to another person’s choices in the moment. After a difficult exchange, your earlier study is still not worthless, and you were not supposed to have all the missing knowledge in your memory already.

Keep a small note afterwards

Write down one or two things you wanted to say and one thing you misunderstood. Check a natural way to express them and practise again later. Also note what went well, so the session is not only a list of mistakes.

For the next conversation, choose another manageable subject and use one of the expressions you needed this time.