In addition to being an English teacher on italki, I am actively trying to learn Spanish on here as well.  My husband is Costa Rican and I am determined to become fluent so we can have conversations and eventually move overseas to a Spanish speaking country.

One thing that surprised me when first starting on this journey to learning a new language was how difficult it is to practice with those you love!  He helps me the best he can, but since he's not an actual Spanish teacher, it's difficult for him to answer all of my questions.  For example, I will say something in Spanish and he will correct me...but then when I ask "why" or ask him for the grammar rules to help explain his correction, he doesn't know how to help me.

It can be difficult for adult native speakers to explain "why" because it's often been a very long time since they were in grammar school and knew all the rules.  As we get older, we tend to forget many of the things we learned when we were younger as it relates to our native tongue.

I'm curious if any of you run into problems while trying to speak your new language with your loved ones who are native speakers?  We practice together all the time, but now I make sure I write down any questions I have so I can ask my Spanish teacher during our next lesson.  I think it's important to practice with you partner as much as possible, but also know when to seek professional guidance if/when you are needing the answers to more complex language questions.  Share your stories with me! :)