Today I share my list of words and phrases that I often switch to my native for during convo lessons. Kenny of Something Polyglot once pointed out to me that I often switch to English for things like, “How do you say?,” or “What’s the word?” Once he brought this to my attention, I started noticing lots of little phrases that aren’t part of the main conversation, so I habitually leave the conversation language to say them in my native language. Making a list of these words and phrases has been very useful for me to consciously change my habit of switching to English and immediately increase the amount of time I spend in my target languages when speaking them.
Quite literally, the day after Kenny pointed this out, I had a conversation with Sara of Italiano con Saretta, and I spent much more time in Italian because I was actively remembering to say these little phrases in Italian. Immediate boost!
Listen in to hear my list of things that I’m working to stop habitually saying in English, and I hope you’re inspired to create your own list or become mindful of your own native language phrases that peek their heads during your target language conversations. This mindfulness will allow you to spend more time in your new languages, build more confidence, and provide proof that you’re doing this thing!
Thanks, Kenny, for giving me this boost!
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Love, Joy, and Languages Blog
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