DOES SPEAKING ANOTHER LANGUAGE MAKE YOU FEEL ANXIOUS?

For some people—most people, actually, the data say around 70%—speaking another language makes them feel anxious, silly and uncomfortable. I am one of those people, and also a language teacher, so I have some insights on this topic. The holy grail, from a learner's perspective, is feeling at ease when speaking to other people in another language.

This post explores some of the practical things that I recommend to my students (and remind myself from time to time) to reduce this anxiety. So if you're interested, let's jump in.

1. Be silly on purpose. When you speak a foreign language you will make mistakes and say stupid things, so you might as well get on with it and accept that you can't be cool and in control. If you think of it as "play" it seems to take away the pressure. For some reason it's the clowns and jokers in my classes who make the fastest progress in the beginning because they don't take themselves so seriously.

2. Focus. Don't waste mental and emotional energy on trying to control the anxiety, good luck with that! Focus on the task at hand, what you have to do, and the message you have to get across. You have a job to do, so do it. The more focused you are, the less mental space there is for the anxiety, and that goes for public speaking and the 101 social situations that increase our BPMs and make us sweat.

3. Mental filter. Imagine that feeling confident and at ease is a bank account, the more in the bank account the better you feel, and that the lack of confidence, the anxiety, is when the account is getting low or in the red. Now, how do you make deposits in that bank account? You create a mental filter that only allows successful experience in. You block out the negative and purposefully register the positive despite the little dictator in your head telling you to do otherwise. Every time you get something right, every time you are successful in communicating something you say, every time you make an effort, every time you show up you say "That's me, I'm like that!" Start making those deposits today and feel your confidence grow.

4. The PPP of mistakes. I hate making mistakes. When I make a mistake it momentarily puts me off my game, so I need a quick way back, it's how quickly we can recover that counts, not the mistake itself. The first P is for PERMANENT. Mistakes are not permanent, they don't last forever, they are stepping stones in the learning process. The second P is for PERSONAL. The mistake is not me and I am not this mistake. This mistake does not represent me. The third P is PERVASIVE. Just because I made one mistake does not wipe out all the 999 things I got right and did well. With PPP practice over time, the recovery from making a mistake becomes automatic and almost instantaneous.

5. Practice, practice, and yes, practice. The more you expose yourself to what you fear the easier it becomes. Basically, to be comfortable with discomfort, and on purpose, because you know that's what works. It's easier said than done, I know, but no one said it would be easy. Seek out opportunities to practice and kill the green-eyed dragon blocking your way.

6. Get in shape. Speaking a language is physical. It's an action, something that you do. You need to train your muscles and vocal chords. Reading aloud is one way to get the physicality right if you don't get much face to face practice. Shadowing is another when you listen to a speaker or speakers, (a film for example), and try to repeat as closely as possible what they are saying. I talk to myself out loud when walking in the forest, but at my age crazy is the new normal.

7. Visualise success. The mind is a wonderful servant and a terrible master. Whatever you tell your mind it tends to believe you. Tell it what you want, not what you don't want. Imagine success, visualise it, see yourself relaxed, smiling and fluent, expressing yourself with ease, understanding and being understood, a successful language learner. With this vivid image of success as a magnet, you increase your chances enormously.

8. Goldilocks. A good teacher or speaking partner will engage you in learning experiences that are pitched at the right level, not too difficult that you get overwhelmed, and not too easy that you get bored. Make sure you challenge yourself, not freak yourself out.

   
   

   In short, speaking another language to people you don't know when the stakes are high, especially at the lower levels, is not a pleasant experience and requires effort and self-regulation, just like most things in life that are truly worthwhile.