You might be great at conjugating subjunctive verbs and knowing all the lunfardo inBuenos Aires but if you never actually use “querés pedir la cuenta?” how long do you think you´ll retain the info?  This is why the conversation side of learning Spanish can’t be overlooked.  Getting in the habit of speaking Spanish helps you remember it at desperate times, like when you need to ask for monedas para el bondi.  If the only reason you’re not practicando is because you’ve always been afraid to go out and meet new people or you feel like you always end conversations awkwardly, fear no more because Spanglish Exchange is here to help!

Here are some tips on how to keep the conversaciones interesting and fun for you and your partner…

1. Keep small talk quick and painless

You always want to save small talk for the crucial information you need to advance in the conversation.  This should roughly include your name, where you’re from, what you do and how long you’re staying in Buenos Aires.  Some people are masters of prolonging small talk.  But who really wants to do that?  This kind of convo gets old after the second or third time:

“I study medicine at La UBA and you?”

“I teach English to save up for my trips to Mendoza, Iguazu and Patagonia.”

…And trust me, if you´re not careful you could have this convo all night.  More importantly, it restricts the new words you could learn by speaking about more personal topics.  Too much small talk makes the convo boring and the questions/answers will start to sound fake.   Do you really think an Argentine’s gonna be fascinated hearing about all the places you will visit in three months?  Getting stuck in small talk is like talking to someone who is in autopilot mode.  They know how to answer the routine questions so well they can answer them while skimming the menu for the most alcoholic drink.  You might as well just practice with your computer.

2. Ask hard questions. Don’t be afraid!

The key to interesting conversation is getting personal.  Don’t worry so much about what someone might think of you. You might never talk to them again after those ten minutes, or you may talk to them for the rest of your life.  But you’ll never know if you’re too worried about saying the wrong thing.  As far as getting personal goes, I’m not talking about giving your life story in ten minutes or asking your partner what color underwear they have on.  You just have to provoke emotion- something that everyone can relate to.  Since sad or negative emotions can be conversation killers, don’t talk about losing your job or why your girlfriend left you for a Tango dancer.  Try to talk about the crazy encounter you had with a tranny in Constitucion, or the pros and cons of dulce de leche vs. peanut butter.   Once you’ve gotten someone to sincerely laugh, or be surprised, you have engaged them.  They’ll shut off autopilot and fully engage in telling you ways to avoid Constitucion on the way to your hostel, or the different fruits that go well with DDL (dulce de leche). They will open up so much quicker.  Having a good story also makes it easier to remember names and faces (regardless of your Fernet and Coke count).

3. Listen as much as you speak

When you have someone’s attention, it’s easier to keep interest.  However, stay away from hogging the conversation.  As much as you want to practice charlando en el otro idioma you still want to have a real conversation.  Don’t turn it into a learning exercise.  Remember, you’re there to meet people who will wanna keep talking to you as a friend, not as a teacher/student.  Save classroom conversation for the awesome language schools in Buenos Aires, like LV Studio (http://www.lvstudioweb.com/).

It’s also a good idea to avoid strictly talking about your self.  How do you do this if they re not talking much? Ask how they feel about things they have mentioned or things you have recently mentioned.  Be sure when you ask a follow up question that the answer will be more than one word.

“And then I waited an hour for my empanada de pollo.  Do you eat empanadas?”

“Si.”

These are dead-end questions, which are worse than small talk.  Sometimes a little small talk in between lulls can even be helpful.  This is why it’s good to know what’s going on in the news.

“Gee, I can’t believe she had the balls to expropriate YPF!  What do you think of the expropriation?”

“I think her intentions were good but…”

4. Don’t forget!

So remember to get to know each other with brief small talk, keeping it positive. Follow up with more personal questions/statements. Sincerely listen to your partner. Provoke more conversation with questions that take more than one word to answer.  Following these steps should help each table rotation at Spanglish Exchange flow smoothly and lead to not only improved English or Spanish but a sweet time that will have you asking “when’s the next Spanglish event?” Just check out our website for the next event:

https://www.spanglishexchange.com/

About Spanglish Exchange

Spanglish Exchange gives people the chance to practice their Spanish and English at different Buenos Aires bars—like K-Bar (Recoleta), Koh Lanta (http://www.kohlanta.com.ar/) and Funes y La Maga (Palermo)—while rotating tables through out the event.  All you have to do is know which table you go to next.  Going to Spanglish is even better than going to your average bar because you’re sure to meet at least 5 people to talk to!  And probably even more if you show up during the early part of check-in.  Now that the hardest part’s taken care of, it’s time to have a little fun and practicar tu Castellano.