It’s possible to speak Spanish in a way that is 100 percent grammatically correct and understandable and yet not be using the words and phrases that a native speaker would use.
How can you avoid that?
The more you immerse yourself in authentic content on a regular basis and the more you hear the right way of saying things, the sooner you will start to simply say the right things since it “feels right.”
Immersing yourself in an authentic content can be done by making Spanish speaking friends, finding volunteer work in which you need to interact in Spanish or even just listening to people speaking Spanish on the radio, television, in a movie or in song. In these situations, you don’t really interact but it is still a good way to find out “how people say things”. This way, you will see how different it is between countries, regions, towns, different social groups and even among different groups of people in the same social group.
Believe me, you can try, but is really hard to totally express yourself like a native. Personally, I have been trying it for 22 years now, but I am still not totally there.
On the other hand, it is worth a try and meanwhile, enjoy the journey!!!
Ingrid Lommers