speaking in Japanese & English?

When I first met this Japanese guy, he spoke to me mostly in English & he'd text me in English, too. He even told me to reply in English after I had texted him in Japanese. Lately, though, he messaged me only in Japanese & then when we met, we spoke mostly in Japanese.

I'm helping him translate some things into English, but besides speaking the bare minimum amount of English he needs to speak in order to make his point, he only speaks in Japanese. He used to try to speak some English like saying "thanks for the food" when we eat dinner instead of "itadakimasu."

Sorry if this is hard to follow. I'm just a little worried & confused about why he would start speaking more in Japanese than in English, when in the beginning, he specifically told me to speak/communicate with him in English.

It is difficult to judge without knowing next to nothing about either of you, especially yourself and the type of relation between the two of you. So I can just guess that maybe his motivation of learning has decreased, while his tiredness of actually communicating in a foreign language has increased.

I would ask if he wants to practice his English more, and see what he'll say.

I'd say he is just over the novelty of speaking mostly in English, and probably found it tiring. He realises that your Japanese is good enough for the two of you to communicate, so he is taking the "lazy" option- quite natural really.

I don't really see why this is something that worries or confuses you? Do you feel that you can't continue the relationship in this situation?

Thanks Uji, Ikuyo, & Sira.

I'm helping him translate some things into English. It does seem like his motiv ation to learn has decreased though...

The reason it confused me was because one day he spoke almost completely in English except for one or two sentences, & then the next time we met, he spoke only in Japanese except for a few English words. Of course I want to continue the relationship anyway, but I just thought it was a little strange.

I don't think it's strange at all. Some days my husband will speak mostly in English to me (he is pretty fluent), and other days, usually when he is more tired, he will speak mostly in Japanese. I hardly notice which language he is using at any given time any more to tell you the truth!

When he is talking to you do you reply in English, Japanese or a mix of both? Maybe he's trying to get you to practice your Japanese more by "forcing" you into Japanese mode. (Sorry, forcing really is too strong of a word, but I hope you get what I mean.)

takoyaki, i wouldn't really worry about him speaking japanese. au contraire... 1) if he speaks japanese, then it means he's at your ease with you 2) he is showing you he's not "using" you to improve his language skills 3) he wants to fell closer to you 4) he's complimenting your japanese skills.
anyway, it's such a fun to skip from one language to another (and hardly even notice, after one gets used to it)!

If he's just your friend, then maybe he's speaking Japanese because he's no longer interested in practicing English. I'd say 98% of the people who study English or Japanese give up sooner or later. Add him to the list.