“I’m afraid to speak in a new language because I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake.” I’m sure many of us can relate to the fear of speaking a new language. Whether we’re learning a new language for business or pleasure, the fear of making a mistake can be paralyzing. There are a few things that can help us overcome this fear.
Have you ever had an encounter with a person who speaks another language? Did you manage to communicate with them? I’ll share one from my past.
Story From My Past
In my first sales job, I worked for one of the top telecommunication companies in Srilanka. They had a very supportive system for newcomers. I was provided with few existing customers and my only target was to meet them and renew their contracts.
So for the first few sales, I visited with one of our seniors as a training procedure. After that, I feel confident I got permission to visit one of the customers alone and I called his secretary and scheduled an appointment.
So being a young and energetic sales executive I went early with some complimentary gifts and handed them over to the receptionist and secretary for future convenience.
After a few minutes, my client asked me to come to his office. As usual, I greeted him and introduced myself in my native language. But to my horror, this client started to communicate in English and I didn`t know how to reply appropriately. To tell you the truth, at that time I wasn’t fluent in English so I felt ashamed of myself. I felt like I didn’t do my job properly.
Long story short. At the end of the meeting, my client looked me in the eyes and said “Don’t ever be afraid to speak in another language. You are not a native English Speaker. So speak what you know.”
So I asked myself. For my entire school life, I learned English as a foreign language. But Why can’t I communicate?
Instead of feeling disappointed, I felt motivated and I made a plan to become fluent in English.
Benefits of Speaking new languages
These are a few reasons why you should start speaking new languages.
- Exercising your brain to learn new languages will improve your cognitive functions.
- When you think in another language it will boost your creativity.
- Best way to build your self-confidence.
- Want to become smarter? Then start speaking.
- You will meet new people.
- Will open a world of opportunities.
- You will get more job opportunities.
Learning a new language can be difficult, but it’s worth it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because everyone does. Just keep practicing and you’ll eventually get the hang of it. I remember when I first started learning English. It was really tough in the beginning, and I was constantly making mistakes. I felt really embarrassed and self-conscious about it, but I kept practicing, and eventually, I got the hang of it. Now I can have conversations in English, and I’m no longer afraid to make mistakes.
I’ve even started learning another new language (Japanese), and I’m slowly but surely becoming more confident with each passing day. If you’re struggling with learning a new language, don’t be afraid to keep at it. It’s definitely worth it in the end, and you’ll be so glad that you stuck with it.
POLYGLOTS
Polyglots are people who know and can use several languages. Ziad Fazah, the world’s greatest living polyglot, born in Liberia, claims to be speaking a total of 59 languages.
So are they genius people with higher IQ? The answer is no. If you know more than 3 languages you are considered a polyglot.
How do POLYGLOTS learn new languages?
I got a chance to listen to a TED Talk done by Lýdia Machová. She, herself being a Polyglot explained the methods they use to learn fast. I will list a few of them FYI.
- Start speaking from day one with the few words you know.
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s how you learn.
- Find native speakers online or offline and communicate with them.
- Learn the most frequent 500-1000 words used. Use google search to find them.
- Don’t focus on the result. Enjoy the process.
- Find ways to turn boring school language subjects into a fun activity.
- Find fun TV series, books, or movies and start watching them.
Watch the following video if you want to learn more about how POLYGLOTS learn.
Summary
Learning and speaking a new language is not hard and it will open you to a world of opportunities.
There are 6 ways to learn fast. Just try to find a way to make your learning process more interesting.
If you want to be more creative, smart, and feel confident, spend your time learning new languages. Then gradually you can be an expert at speaking. So What kind of languages are you learning right now? Why do you select them? Share your thought with us.
As always thanks for staying with us and will see you in the next post.
Until then stay safe. Good luck! Don’t forget to read the following articles too.