Conversational questions to ask in spanish
Dear spanishdict community,
I am currently staying with my boyfriend who is Spanish-speaking. All the time that we are together we speak in English because he wants to improve. The problem is that when his family come to visit I find it really difficult to speak to them and it is causing a problem. They call me serious and ask half-Jokily whether it's because I don't like them that I don't speak to them. That is not the case at all it is just really difficult to find the words to say in Spanish. I tend to sit listening to their conversations, trying to understand and find a point to join in and work out how to say what I want to. As a result my understanding Spanish has improved a lot and yet I cannot form my own sentences fluently. Its starting to get me down that I have been in a Spanish-speaking country for almost 3 months and yet I cannot talk to them as I would like.
I was wondering if you could help me with some questions I could ask them in Spanish to get to know them better an so that I can actively participate in their conversations.
Also, if anyone else has been in a similar situation then I would be glad to hear about your experience
Many thanks x
6 Answers
Cardiff
Questions like this might prompt some conversation (I know you don't need translations).
¿Cómo pasas tu tiempo libre cuando estás a casa?
¿Le gusta cocinar?
Suerte
Frank
Hmm... giving sentences is not going to help her form her own. I have been in a Spanish-speaking country for about 3 years and I still have this problem. I have been shy all my life, though... jeje.
The only way to improve is to talk... even if you cannot form sentences very well. Ask if they could help / correct you.
If you are looking to be conversational, it may take a while. Depending on how much you study and practise, it can take anywhere from 6 months to a few years. Since you are in a Spanish-speaking country you do have an avantage, though. =)
Just talk as much as you can, and you will improve in no time at all. I read in an online article that you should try to speak 80 percent of the time in the langage that you are learning (if possible).
Also, you could try to find a language exchange partner online and talk by Skype. Doing this has helped me quite a bit.
Good luck!
More tips:
Try reading in Spanish if you don't already. It really does help you later on to form your own sentences. I don't like reading much, but I found reading Yahoo! OMG! to be okay.
Listen to podcasts. If you have iTunes, you can find many free ones in their store. Here are a few... All the podcasts on this site are free.
Watch your favorite series and movies in Spanish. If you need to, but the subtitles on as well.
Listen to music in Spanish. It seems people learn faster this way because the lyrics get stuck in your head.
Try to think in Spanish as much as possible. Also, talking to yourself can help a lot too (sounds a bit silly, though). Doing this has helped me a lot when I actually had to speak with another person. So, try creating a situation and just pretend to talk your way through it.
Find a pen pal.
A bit of my story-- Well, I started learning Spanish about 11 years ago (I was around 14 years old). Sadly, I quit studying for a (long) while. =( I just started studying again about 2 years ago, but just grammar and writing. For some reason I am extremely shy when it comes to talking.
My hubby is Mexican, but we always speak English here at home. When we go to visit his family, I find it very hard to talk with them. A couple of weeks ago, I had to stay with my cuñada for 2 days, and I really had to push myself to get out a couple of sentences. >.< I think my nerves play a big part in this. I just seem to forget everything when I am nervous.
Anyway, I have been trying to push myself to talk more in Spanish, whether it be just saying words or asking questions. I still don't have many conversations, but I have been improving a lot. You just have to keep talking as much as possible!!
Here is a video I found very interesting... This guy is like the language king... jeje. He talks about how he learns new languages (Right now I think he speaks 8 fluently...)
Frank's ideas are wonderful! And yes, you may ask questions here and remember to provide both your translations, English and Spanish. This way we can help you more! Also, depending on your time, if you begin the Lessons, they too,may help give you ideas. The Lessons link is found above; Learn, Learn Spanish. Or you may click here.
The first thing to know is that if you have confidence with his family; since in Spanish there's a "respect mode" or "formal mode" to talk to someone, eg:
How are you? = "¿cómo estás?" (if it's Tú) or "¿cómo está? (if it's Usted)
I've never been in a situation in which I'm in someone else's family home sharing with strangers or half-strangers. But other questions could be:
¿A qué te dedicas? (if it's Tú) or "¿a qué se dedica (usted)? (if it's Usted)
¿Cuánto tiempo llevan viviendo aquí? (plural, to all the presents)
¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? (if it's Tú) or ¿Cuál es su comida favorita? (if it's Usted)
¿A dónde suelen ir de vacaciones? (plural, to all the presents)
Greetings.
Nikkis advices is a pretty good one. It is definitely hard in the beginning to participate in a conversation in a different language, but fortunately most of the people will appreciate if they see that you are really trying to talk to them and will gladly help you to improve yourself.
On the other hand, depending on your spanish skills and learning preferences, it could prove useful reading some spanish books or trying to follow spanish news (or maybe the next time you look something up on wikipedia, just switch the language to spanish etc.). The more contact you have with the language, the faster you will improve and the less you have to think about how to say things.
Cheers, Tom
I agree with everything above. Something else that you could try would be to learn cognates between the languages. (Spanish word is los cognados.)
Look at this to see what they are, and how you can use them now.
http://cognates.org/index.html
Think about what you know already about his family- their likes and dislikes-, and practice writing questions in Spanish to ask them, and answer your questions in Spanish for yourself as practice, then have either your boyfriend or another native speaker check them, and have them help you practice saying the words and correct you- but act like it is a project in that your are trying to improve your language, just like others practice for becoming better at mathematics in tutoring situations where explanations and practice are needed, you need to practice the communication part of language.
ACTFL is the Association for teaching Second Languages. Here is their research based Standards that states are adopting in the US, and their 'can do' statements. These help both the teacher and learner know what they need to be able to do for each standard and focuses on your actual communicative ability.
https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Can-Do_Statements_2015.pdf
Below I have put the three actual communicative standard descriptors, as there are also cultural competencies, but you are probably picking those up as you go in your case. These explain how your goals should look as you are learning. You seem pretty good in understanding, but reading might need work as you typically listen. Being able to understand the language is Interpretive, Presentational is being able to create- written and spoken. These are needed in order to help with Interpersonal, where you have to create with the language and understand the language at the same time and respond as you are going- the hardest form of communicating. Hopefully this will help!
https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ACTFLPerformance_Descriptors-Interpretive.pdf
https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ACTFLPerformance_Descriptors-Presentational.pdf
https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ACTFLPerformance_Descriptors-Interpersonal.pdf
Adios, Buena suerte
