Are You Too Shy to Speak English? Two Ways to overcome your English Speaking Shyness

Julian Northbrook

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The topic for today is “Are You Too Shy to Speak English? What can you do to overcome your English Speaking Shyness“.

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Today we learned about “Are You Too Shy to Speak English? What can you do to overcome your English Speaking Shyness“.  Let Julian Northbrook shares with you  2 powerful ways which to help you overcome your English speaking shyness.

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Fatima E Porcino

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Are You Too Shy to Speak English | Julian Northbrook

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Are You Too Shy to Speak English? 5 Ways To Overcome Your English Speaking Shyness

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Are You Too Shy to Speak English? 5 Ways To Overcome Your English Speaking Shyness

Answer by Julian Northbrook (Founder @DoingEnglish.com, Aspie & Language Obsessive). All credit goes to Julian Northbrook, Thank you!

 6.8/10

I am not good in English and I feel shy to speak in English in front of good English speakers. What should I do?

You should do two things:

1. Work on your English.
2. Work on your confidence.

It’s pointless learning English if you don’t have the confidence to use it. And arguably it’s just as bad to become really confident and not have the skill to match.

For some people, confidence comes naturally. Probably a result of their upbringing. For other (most) people it doesn’t come naturally. It certainly didn’t for me, anyway.

The good news is that it can be learnt, and fairly easily.

Lack of confidence (in general, but including with speaking English) comes down three basic fears:

1. Fear of failure.
2. Fear of rejection.
3. And fear of embarrassment.

Now, there are evolutionary reseasons for this, which I won’t bother to go into now, but have written about in detail here. But lack of confidence can always be linked to these fears. So to become truly confident, we have to overcome them… or at least to be aware of them and not let them get in the way.

There’s also a lot of truth in the adage of “fake it ‘till you make it”. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Amazon Video shows little snippets of trivia when you pause a film. A couple of days ago I was watching Spiderman (the one with Tobey Maguire) and got:

Are You Too Shy to Speak English?

“According to Stan Lee, Spiderman wears a mask so his enemies couldn’t see his fear.”

Point is, even superheroes get shit-scared in the face of adversity.

Now, I’m not saying you should wear a mask, but half of the battle is getting over your own mindset and putting your fear of looking stupid aside so you can get on with speaking well.

I’ve written more about this topic here and in one of my books, which you can have a look at if you like. What I’ve said here should get you started, though.

Hope it helps.

Best,
Julian

 Reference: Julian Northbrook. “I am not good in English and I feel shy to speak in English in front of good English speakers. What should I do?”  originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Ways To Overcome Your English Speaking Shyness

Practice out loud.

You’ve heard it before. The only way to improve is to practice. Use English frequently and out loud. Some students practice silently – having conversations only in their heads. But you need to get your mouth used to using the words – and your ear used to hearing them. You can do this anytime – in private, with friends, or through an online conversation class.

Thank you, English Live EF – EF English Live | Study English online with Qualified Teachers.

Stop Being a Student

The right attitude can make the difference between failure and success. Stop thinking of yourself as someone who is learning English, and start thinking of yourself as someone who speaks English. It’s a small change, but it will make you feel more confident and help you to use the English you already know more effectively. This also means you need to start thinking in English. If you want to say the word “apple” in English, for example, right now you probably think of the word in your native language first, and then try to think of the correct word in English. Instead, try imagining a picture of an apple, and then just think of the English word “apple.” Real fluency with English speaking happens when you stop mentally translating conversations.

Thank you, FluentU – Language Immersion Online | Learn a Language with Videos.

Smile

When you have to speak English and you feel immensely embarrassed, smile and maintain eye contact with the other person. Why? Because a simple smile to a stranger can make you forget about constructing sentences in English and help you focus on the content of the conversation. Your smile is your content.

Thank you, Real Life Global – RealLife English – Connecting the World Through English.

Don’t go Overboard

Break your goal down into smaller steps. For example, if you want to learn 100 new words each month, can you focus on learning 25 new words a week? Does it sound easier if you focus on learning 5 new words a day?

Change your goals if you need to. If you find that you are too busy to read a book in English every month, for example, you can focus on reading two small newspaper articles. Every couple of weeks, re-evaluate your goals to see if you need to increase or decrease the amount of reading you do.

Thank you, T J Taylor – TJ Taylor delivers English language courses for companies and professionals.

Use iTalki

Follow these pieces of advice:

• Don’t feel shy to speak in English.
• It doesn’t matter even if you make mistakes while speaking.
• Remember no one will be able to speak perfect English without making mistakes.
• Listen to others when they speak.
• Watch and listen to the t.v. and radio news.
• The important point is to remember ”there is nothing that a man cannot achieve in this world”

so English also like that.

Thank you, iTalki – italki | Learn Any Language Faster‎  – (italki\sha).

Never Said “MY ENGLISH IS TERRIBLE”

The people who are most successful in achieving goals are those who believe they CAN do it and who make the goal part of their identity. Even if your English is not perfect, tell yourself:

“I AM AN ENGLISH SPEAKER. I AM LEARNING TO BE FLUENT, AND I AM MAKING GOOD PROGRESS!”

Thank you, Espresso English –  Espresso English – Everyday English Lessons.

The Actor Method

And, action! Let’s pretend you’re not you; you’re an actor or actress in a play or movie. You can even use one of your favorite actors or actresses as inspiration. You are pretending that you’re going to take on a new character — a character who is braver and more outspoken — than you are in your own life. This is a great way to have fun with your learning and lose the stress. Create your English alter-ego!

Thank you, Go Natural English – Go Natural English: Learn English Your Way.

Ask Questions

Have you already dropped that unnecessary fear to make mistakes and started speaking? Brilliant! Now the next step: ask questions. Don’t pretend you understand everything, it doesn’t help you improve your skills. There’s absolutely nothing wrong in making sure there are no misunderstandings between you and your interlocutor. Ask them to explain things you didn’t get, it will help you gain knowledge. Asking questions actually, underlines your sense of understanding a lot better than mindlessly nodding at everything you hear.

Thank you, Simply Better English – Learn English. Become fluent in English with fun, free lessons that will change your life. The most fun and enjoyable way to learn.

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