Have you ever felt nervous before speaking English? Maybe your voice trembles, your hands shake, and your pulse races, all because you’re focused on the mistakes you don’t want to make or words you don’t remember.
You’re not alone—many language learners experience this! However, speaking is a skill that you can master with practice, patience, and a positive mindset.
Read this blog to discover tips on overcoming the fear of speaking and making mistakes.
Develop a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is the belief that your skills and talents can be developed over time through hard work, the right strategies, and support from others.
Reflect on a skill you currently possess and the journey you undertook to develop it. You didn’t simply wake up one day knowing how to dance, ride a bike, write, or perform work tasks — you gradually learned!
The same applies to learning English. Today, you might struggle to form a sentence or two, but small yet consistent learning steps will lead you to huge progress.
To cultivate a growth mindset, track your progress and remind yourself that learning is a journey, feeling nervous is normal, and mistakes are simply part of the process.
However, if anxiety completely prevents you from speaking, remember that it’s perfectly okay to seek professional psychological help.
Learn Phrases for When You Get Confused or Stuck
Imagine forgetting a word, not understanding what someone asked you, or feeling completely lost and unsure how to respond. These situations can occur even for advanced speakers, let alone beginners! Learning a few helpful phrases can make handling these moments much less stressful. Here are some examples:
I can't remember the word. What I mean is …
I don’t know the word, but it’s… [describe it]
I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Could you say it again?
Would you mind speaking more slowly?
Could you repeat a little louder, please?
Could you say it in another way?
Could you rephrase that?
Let me think about how to answer that
Let me think about how to explain that
It's also a good idea to think in advance about the context of your upcoming conversation, if possible. For instance, if you're going to have a Zoom meeting with foreign colleagues, you can prepare by learning phrases explicitly tailored for online meetings.
Practice Shadowing Technique
Shadowing, or echoing, is a learning technique where you repeat audio just after you hear it. The term "shadowing" comes from the idea that you act as a shadow of the speaker. This technique can help you with your memory, accent, pronunciation, and stress points.
You can practice shadowing with both easier and more advanced exercises. For the easier version, find an interesting video or audio with subtitles or a transcript. Listen to it sentence by sentence, pause after each one, and then repeat what you heard.
For the more advanced version, try to speak simultaneously with the speaker without pausing.
Additionally, shadowing can enhance your listening skills and enable you to memorize numerous words and phrases.
Find a Good Speaking Partner
While you can use various techniques and strategies to improve your speaking skills, nothing compares to real conversation! A supportive speaking partner can make the experience of speaking English enjoyable and something you look forward to.
As experts in finding speaking partners for English learners, we recommend seeking a language buddy who is motivated, shares similar interests and hobbies and has a schedule that aligns with yours.
Want us to help you find an English-speaking partner? Apply to our program at enginprogram.org.
Speak with Fellow English Learners
If you feel nervous talking to native speakers, consider practicing your speaking skills with other English learners, preferably those with a similar or slightly higher level than yours. Alternatively, you can practice speaking with native speakers in mini-groups alongside other learners. Observing that others also make mistakes, but continuing to try will help you be less self-critical and reduce your worries.
If this sounds interesting for you, note that ENGin offers English speaking practice in mini-groups, consisting of one volunteer and two students. Learn more and apply here.
Good luck with your English learning journey!
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