How Do You Feel When You’re Speaking English?

Does speaking English put you into a panic? When you want to say something in English, do you feel like this?

You don’t remember the words you studied. You try to open your mouth, but no English words come out.

You are not alone.

Students often say they forget everything because they get so nervous when they’re speaking English. Most people are afraid of making mistakes or afraid that no one will understand them. It’s this fear that stops some people from speaking at all.

Your goal for speaking English should be to communicate your message, not to say a perfect sentence. Don’t be afraid of mistakes! A mistake is not always going stop people from understanding you.

You will be overjoyed when you realize other people understand you when you’re speaking English even with mistakes. Every time you are able to communicate with someone in English, you will feel better about your English speaking skills. You will improve with practice, so it’s important to keep trying.

Speaking English with Confidence

How can you build your confidence?

• Listen: The more English you hear, the easier it will be for you to copy what you hear.
• Practice: The more you speak, the more comfortable you will feel about speaking. Start with easy things. Ask questions at a store. Ask where you can find something, even if you already know. Say hello to the bus driver. Just open your mouth and talk whenever you can.
• Stop worrying about making mistakes: We all make mistakes. Your message is most important. If the other person understands you, it’s not important how many mistakes you make.

To speak confidently you need knowledge of vocabulary, sentence structure, pronunciation, and finally listening comprehension to understand the other person so you can reply. 

At LERNFORUM Chur, we are able to help you reach your English speaking goals.