ABC - better to use English if not fluent in Mandarin?

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

My Mandarin vocabulary is limited but my pronunciation is good on account of speaking Mandarin daily at home since childhood. I can’t read Hanzi.

I’m often running into situations where if I start a conversation in Mandarin, I’ll eventually have to explain that I don’t understand something when:

  1. they begin to use words I don’t understand.
  2. they answer my question by pointing out Hanzi.

I’m wondering if it would be better to just start with English instead, and switch to Mandarin if they’re struggling with English. This raises another question - will they assume that I’m trying to show off my English skills once I switch to Mandarin (since at the surface level I appear fluent enough)?

2

Start in mandarin by explaining who you are
And you may struggle with some vocabulary

3

Do you intend to get anything out of speaking to them in mandarin? If they continue to use the same words that you do not understand and explain to you what it is, you eventually add those words/phrases to your vocab, right?

I say, stick it out, gotta learn somehow!

4

Start in Mandarin you can do it.