This meeting helped me improve my spoken fluency and confidence in English. Because we agreed to speak English for the entire walk, I had no opportunity to “escape” into another language. In previous meetings, we sometimes switched between languages, but this time we challenged ourselves. I noticed that speaking for a long, uninterrupted period pushed me to express ideas more naturally and spontaneously.
Culturally, we continued our exchange about Andalusia and Zaragoza. Although our walk was not planned as a structured cultural lesson, I still learned a lot through the stories my partner shared about her life, traditions and personal background. I also ended up explaining parts of my own culture in English, which forced me to find vocabulary for concepts that I do not normally talk about in English. In that sense, this meeting helped both of us develop the ability to explain cultural ideas clearly and adapt our language to a conversational setting.
This session felt very different from more formal learning experiences I have had before. Walking outside created a natural flow in the conversation. It made the language practice feel authentic, more like real communication than an exercise. I realised that when I am moving or in a calm environment, I’m less focused on making mistakes and more focused on expressing myself, which actually improves my fluency.
I also learned something unexpected; talking about personal experiences in a foreign language requires a different level of vocabulary and emotional expression. This was more challenging than talking about cultural facts because personal stories involve nuance, feelings and more spontaneous speech. It made me aware of a new aspect of language learning, the connection between emotional expression and linguistic ability.
Teaching my partner about my culture was also a learning experience. Even though I was not teaching language directly, I still had to think about how to simplify explanations, rephrase things or find examples, which are important skills in communicative teaching.
One challenge was that sometimes I struggled to find the right words quickly enough when discussing personal topics. Since the conversation was continuous, I did not have time to stop and think or translate in my mind. This showed me that I still need to expand my vocabulary for everyday, informal topics.
Another difficulty was staying fully in English during the entire walk. There were moments when both of us instinctively wanted to switch to Spanish, especially when laughing or reacting emotionally. However, we reminded each other of the goal, and it became easier as time went on.
We did not follow a strict cultural “lesson,” yet our conversation naturally touched on cultural themes through personal experiences. This was slightly different from our plan, but in a positive way. The format of walking and talking was not something we had originally envisioned, but it proved to be very effective for practising spontaneous English.
Comments