Spanish class phrases that help you actually practice

The phrase that keeps you talking beats the perfect one

The most reliable way to waste a Spanish class is to go quiet while assembling a grammatically perfect question, miss the moment, and nod instead. Nodding when you did not understand is the expensive habit, because the class moves on and the gap stays behind. No entendí is three syllables and it costs nothing.

Have four phrases ready and you can stay in the conversation indefinitely: ¿me puede repetir?, más despacio por favor, ¿me das un ejemplo?, and ¿cómo se dice esto? An example is usually more useful than a definition, and asking for one is what good learners do rather than what struggling ones do.

Me trabé is worth having too. It means I got stuck - literally, I jammed - and it is what Mexicans say when a sentence stops halfway out of their mouth. Saying it out loud is better than trailing off, because it tells the room you are still coming and buys you the two seconds you need.