So many languages learners ask me how to acquire and develop self-confidence when talking a new language. My answer is that a language learner has to have faith in their ability to speak any language.
Faith brings actions. A language learner must know that making mistakes it's a part of a learning process. Fear, doubts and timidity have to be replaced by faith. A language learner MUST learn to interact and talk with natives of his target language. He has to go through the process. Unfortunately, there are a lot of languages learners who are afraid to talk. It's normal to be a little afraid to talk in another language because you think that people may not understand you but don't let that stop you. It's like driving a car ... at the beginning you made a lot of mistakes ... you wasn't spontaneous, did that stop you to learn how to drive a car? ... I learned to drive a stick shift car because generally in France, we drive stick shift cars ... oh my God! I told my instructor that it was impossible to "do all that stuff" plus be attentive to the signals, to the traffic, to your speed etc. When you start talking a new language, you think about all you have to do in order to be understandable ... you try to use the right terminology, to remember your vocabulary list, you try to think about how to structure your sentence, to use the right grammar, to remember what your teacher said ... and then, you wonder if what you are saying makes sense to those who listen to you. When you think about all the to-do-list, finally you wonder if it's possible to do all that stuff .... all that thinking create a lot of stress! Relax. It's like that at the beginning, it's a part of the learning curve ... but don't be discouraged you just need to keep going, your brain needs to go through this process in order to get it right. And when the brain gets it, it gets it. When I finally mastered my stick shift car, driving becomes spontaneous, natural ... today when I drive, I don't wonder when I need to put my foot on the gas or on the brake ... if the way I position my hands on the wheel are right or wrong or where to turn my lights on. I don't have the stress of the beginner anymore. When I speak a foreign language that I master, I don't have to think first in my native language and try to figure out how to translate to the other language .... Everything is spontaneous and natural. Something surprising (to me) is in my dreams, sometimes I talk in English instead of French (my native language). I live in the US, and I speak more English than French, I am completely immersed. To get to the point to communicate in a foreign language as the same level than his native language, a language learner has to: -Practice, practice and practice ... - Overcome fears and doubts and dare to talk with natives (in the bus, in the park, at school, in his job etc.) wherever he can find a native speaker in his target language ... he has to engage a conversation with him/her even to say: Bonjour! comment ça va? (Good morning, how are you doing?). My point is that building self-confidence is important and the only way you can do it's through practice. You will make some mistakes at the beginning ... so what?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorKelly Clark is author of this blog. She is a writer, blogger and novelist. Kelly writes articles for Edusson writing platform. Kelly is a Social media advocate. Freelance thinker. Unapologetic reader. Coffee specialist. Devoted food fanatic. ArchivesCategories |