Un artículo publicado en inglés y español, que te ayudará en tu lectura, pero principalmente sirve para expresar una opinión.

An article in English and Spanish which will help you in your reading, but mainly serves to express an opinion.

DO YOU SPEAK SPANISH?

¿HABLA USTED ESPAÑOL?

The title is correct: it doesn’t say, ‘Do you speak English?’

This title simply asks if you speak your own language. You do? Well, that’s good. But I’m sorry, I don’t believe you.

Do you speak Spanish when you’re running to catch a bus? When you’re swimming? Or sneezing? Do you speak Spanish when you’re in the front seat of a taxi with three friends in the back and a driver who talks non-stop in a loud voice? Again I say – I think not.

My point is this: there are some circumstances in which it is very difficult, or impossible, to speak at all.

How many times have you attempted to speak English in really difficult conditions because you’re keen to practice?

If you are a student going to an English-speaking country, the first people you meet will be the least helpful. This is not because they don’t want to help you but because they’re too busy.

Airline cabin crew and desk staff at airports simply don’t have time for conversations and this is true of immigration officials and customs officers. You can often get lucky with your first taxi driver because they like to chat, but even then, the journey is likely to be short.

Even if you stay in your own country and have a chance to speak English you may not have ideal conditions at first. You may be a newcomer to a conversation group where everyone seems to know each other and you are the ‘outsider’.

Unless you have great confidence you need to make an effort to get yourself into the mood to join in a conversation.

However, a sympathetic group with helpful members should make the process easier. But generally I suggest that you need a strategy to give you the best opportunities.

As indicated above, you can’t have a conversation with busy people but of course you can use the opportunity to say relevant things and give correct answers to questions in English.

Even the taxi has its limitations. Personally I don’t like to speak much in any car because of the noise of the traffic, the engine, and the fact that whether I am in the front seat or the back, my mouth and ears are aimed in the wrong direction for conversation. It’s an effort and it wears me out.

A lot depends on your personality – are you an extrovert? Good – find people who have spare time and be natural. Maybe you could buy them a cup of coffee but remember to listen to them too.

I have some suggestions that might help you find interesting conversations in English:

1.  Be a pretty young girl.

2.  Be a handsome young man.

3.  Be anyone of any age who smiles and looks friendly.

4.  Don’t have a dictionary or map in your hands.

5.  Er, that’s it.

I used to say that the best method is to have a native speaker boyfriend or girlfriend from the country you are in. But it still needs to be someone who speaks English well. That’s not so easy to find.

When you are in the English-speaking country the best method is to join groups: the Scouts, local citizens, hospital visitors, perhaps the church – any aspect of life that interested you at home.

Also, you can usually advertise locally for ‘exchange conversations’ which can be effective and free. Nowadays I’m not as keen on ‘exchanges’ as I used to be. They take some work to arrange and there are security implications; you need to be careful.

But if you are settled in your new country and have some spare time you will profit greatly by seeking out people to talk to in one way or another.