Trying to practice my Spanish, I repeat phrases like “con leche de almendra” in my head as I walk to the coffee shop… But then they speak in English anyway. One of these days I will learn the language for real. Need to ramp up my Duolingo time.

@manton bravo! Ojalá encuentres muchas oportunidades de practicar

@manton You can mix the languages. Just add the words or sentences in Spanish after saying them in English or vice versa. People enjoy that 😉. I do it a lot in France. I'm learning French, but I still have a very hard time building full sentences.

@vladcampos I like that idea.

@manton I would suggest you try signing up for a live class – say at a community college.

@manton It’s great you’re wanting to use your Spanish! When I visited Portugal, lots of folks would frequently offer to switch to english. I finally memorized a quick phrase: “Não, obrigado. Preciso que practicar porque visitamos a minha tia nos Açores que no fala inglês.” “No, thank you, I need to practice because I am visiting my aunt in the Azores who doesn’t speak English.” (She’s actually my mom’s cousin, but everything else was true.) Folks were remarkably kind and encouraging after that, and I’d usually get a whole conversation about the crazy Azorean accents or about the time they visited the islands. I’m guessing there’s something similar to encourage the counter staff to let you try to order in Spanish.

Depending on where you are, there’s always the chance the counter staff are excited you’re speaking in English so they get a chance to practice too!