Have you ever felt stuck not knowing what to talk about with new people? If it happens in your native language, it’s probably even worse when you’re practicing your Spanish language skills. To help you be prepared to strike up a conversation to practice your Spanish, be prepared with these four conversation starters:
¿A dónde has viajado? Where have you traveled?
This quick and easy conversation starter gets you talking about countries, languages, food, attractions and more. To practice for this conversation you’ll need some follow up questions such as: ¿Hablas (idioma)? Do you speak (language)? ¿Que fue lo que más te gustó? What did you like the most? Also be prepared to share your own travel journeys and what you enjoyed in the places you’ve been. You’ll need to brush up on your past tense to express yourself well when answering this question.
¿Qué es lo que te apasiona? What are you passionate about?
This is a great conversation starter that will really allow you to get to know someone on a deeper level. If you want something even more natural you could try: ¿Qué es lo que más te gusta? Talking about passions goes beyond learning about someone’s job or their daily routines. This really gets you into what people are interested in pursuing, working on and spending time on in their lives. To practice for this conversation, you may want to brush up on your vocabulary touching on professions, activities and hobbies. And of course you’ll need a response as well. Think about what you enjoy doing, what liberates you and what you feel happy doing. Be ready to express it. This conversation will likely be focused on the present tense, but will also likely dabble into the past and future. If you’re looking to practice all tenses and a wide range of vocabulary, it’s a good choice.
¿Qué es lo mejor que te ha pasado esta semana? What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this week?
Everyone has an answer for this and it doesn’t have to take things too deep if you’re feeling uneasy about striking up a conversation with a stranger. You’ll practice basic everyday vocabulary and the past tense. This conversation will probably give you some insight into your conversation partner’s daily life and routines.
¿Tienes planes para el fin de semana? What are you doing this weekend?
This is an easy, no pressure conversation starter. Every day activities and vocabulary are practiced such as “Voy a ir al cine” “I’m going to go to the movies” or “Voy a jugar futbol con unos amigos” “I’m going to play soccer with some friends”. For practicing the future tense, this is an excellent choice as the main points of the conversation will be focused there. What if it IS the weekend when you’d like to practice this conversation? Then try, “¿Que planes tienes para esta semana?” “What plans do you have for this week?”
Conversing in Spanish is one of the best ways for learners to improve. Want more conversation starter ideas? Check out this helpful site that has a long list of conversation starters for you to practice. Just translate them into Spanish and you’ll be ready to have a killer conversation AND improve your Spanish language skills.
