If the goal is to speak Spanish, then the quicker that you can get comfortable speaking it in real situations, the better. For those of us who feel a little self-conscious speaking another language, when you are approaching a real life opportunity to speak, perhaps on holiday, you must give yourself every chance to make it a positive experience rather than a negative one. If you stumble in hoping that the words will just come out, you may be in for a disappointment which makes you wary of trying again next time. Preparation is the key here. Most conversations between strangers follow a pretty standard pattern and by thinking in advance about how the situation could go you will be able to come out the other side with a feeling of accomplishment.
Lets say you are going to eat in a restaurant or book a hotel room. Look up, write down and practice the Spanish phrases that will be useful in this situation. “A table for two please”. “Could we sit in the smoking section please?”. “Which dishes are vegetarian?”. “Could you bring us the check please?”. Also check the phrases that the other person is likely to say to you in Spanish so that you can recognize them. “What would you like to drink?”. “Coffee or Dessert?”. You get the idea. There is no shame in having these written down with you. The idea is to get you talking and listening to a native Spanish speaker in a real situation, not to test your memory.
