Some people seem to have a gift for languages. They seem to be so fluent and progress at a much faster pace than you do. Want to know a quick secret from such a “fluent” language learner? It’s not your born abilities to learn a new language that matter so much. It’s the confidence in your voice and intonations that make you sound more native. So if you want to be fluent when speaking Spanish, you shouldn’t just focus on improving your vocabulary and memorizing all the grammar rules. You should also up your confidence a bit! And here are the tips to help you do just that!

Overcome your fear of talking

Reading, watching, and listening to Spanish are all critical. Even writing it can help you master the language more efficiently. Still, there is no substitute for using your voice! Until you start speaking Spanish in a way that sounds right, you won’t feel confident carrying on conversations with people.

As a beginner, you may feel intimidated to strike a conversation with anyone. So start practising at the comforts of your home first:

• Read some Spanish magazine articles out loud! 
• Watch Spanish movies, and then hit pause while you try out the dialogue yourself.
• Record yourself, then hit rewind to play things back. 
• Sing as well. Not only will you become more confident, but you will also pick up the natural rhythms that Spanish speakers have! 

Take notes on how you sound. Learn what sounds awkward and what you mispronounce. Then practice those sounds over and over again.

Learn the essential vocabulary – there’s no way around it.

If you want to learn how to get better at speaking Spanish, you have to expand your vocabulary and pick up new words all the time. 

Otherwise, you’ll be another Peggy Hill. If you aren’t familiar with Peggy Hill, she’s the ‘mom’ character in the show King of The Hill. She’s also a ‘professional Spanish teacher’. The only problem is that she’s terrible at it. Despite being awful, she’s confident about her abilities, and it’s gotten her into trouble more than once. If you don’t want to be like Peggy, you will have to learn to speak Spanish properly.

Start speaking Spanish out loud when you are alone.

The very best first step in learning a new language is to get your mouth used to speaking the language. When reading Spanish examples, practising conjugations, learning new vocabulary, always try to say the words and phrases out loud, even if it is just a murmur under your breath.

This will be of great help because there are some sounds in the Spanish language that are not found in the English language. By practising these out loud by yourself, you will be much better prepared to say them when you speak with others. One of the essential benefits of doing this is getting accustomed to and comfortable speaking Spanish out loud.

Start practice Spanish with people you are comfortable with

If you are lucky to have at least one friend who speaks Spanish, you can significantly improve by practising with that person. Even if your friends don’t speak Spanish, if they let you use them as your ‘practice dummy’, it will help you a lot get over some of your initial jitters about speaking the language to others. 

It takes a combination of practice, risk-taking, and humour to speak Spanish with confidence. Follow the tips for speaking Spanish here, and you will be off to a great start. Get out there and talk to people. After all, why else are you learning to speak this unique language?

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