Talk:Spanish/How to study Spanish

Asking the custodian?
While I very much encourage people to use their Spanish as regularly as possible, please be considerate of the fact that many English-speaking Hispanics find it somewhat patronizing for someone to just approach them and speak in broken Spanish. I have heard several people express dismay at the perceived implicit assumption that the Hispanic does not actually speak English.

If there is going to be a few minutes of interaction (as with a waiter), I could recommend tossing out a word or phrase to test the waters. Usually it will be fairly clear if the person is amenable to conversing in a language you are trying to learn.

Please note the reaction that students of Spanish have when visiting Spain or Latin America and have people try to insist on speaking to them in English (when the purpose of the trip itself may be to practice Spanish).

Many people may be indifferent, but I would just recommend being conscious of how speaking Spanish to a stranger may be. I have several personal anecdotes I could relate here but will leave the point made as-is.

156.56.73.196 18:10, 11 April 2006 (UTC)