Building Confidence in English: Overcoming Speaking Anxiety

If you bumped into this article, trust me, it is not a coincidence. There are at least two words in the title that must have caught your attention: confidence and anxiety. If, at first sight, they could seem an oxymoron, I will show that it is possible to become a confident English speaker despite the anxiety. You could easily object and say, “That it is easier said than done,” but given that I’ve tried it on my own skin, I will give you some tips that may lead you on the right track.

Typical anxious English speaker’s attitudes

1. Convincing one’s self that you are not the only one living with the fear of public speaking is the first stage in becoming confident and achieving your ESL speaking goals. It may very well be considered as a vicious circle that effectively is triggered when one continues to judge one’s self and erroneously assume those listening are as well.
2. Identification is a really important step for a beginner English speaker.
3. The strong fear of public speaking, known as glossophobia, may lead to several symptoms such as a pounding heart, cold sweats, tremors, freezing up like a deer in headlights, and so on…
4. These improper reactions often camouflage the phobias of being judged and of mistakenly saying something embarrassing.
5. Feeling judged by those we are conversing with, especially if they are native speakers and you are not, is such a common occurrence. This is a challenging aspect of the ESL learning journey experience.
6. Taking a deep breath, slowing down, and managing the pace of speaking at your convenience will keep your worries and doubts under control.
7. On the other hand, the fear of saying something embarrassing is one of the facets of the ESL experience which may affect and/or affect your confidence most. The panoramic knowledge of public speaking is inundated with bloopers, miscues, and wowsers recorded down in the history books. To name but one is the memorable ESL Minister who, during a speech after winning the election, thanked the audience for their “erection” instead of “election.”
8. Don’t be too tough on yourself. As a new language beginner who is giving it your all and doing your best, false steps are part of the learning process, mistakes included.
9. Fear of failing could be a fierce rival and prevent you from boosting your skills.
10. Even very famous world stars suffer from severe and debilitating stage fright. If “No way!” is your answer, consider, for example, world-renowned Barbara Streisand! She is an easy-to-understand interpreter. Moreover, she is only one of many public figures who had to do difficult motivational work on herself to overcome all the challenges of the ESL students, such as grammar differences from one’s own native tongue, setbacks, and embarrassing moments from misspoken and mispronounced words. Look at her now and appreciate all she has accentuated with pizzazz, who, besides being beloved by many of her millions of fans, also has a net worth of over $400,000,000! But there are many others, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger; Albert Einstein; Andy Garcia; Jackie Chan, and the list goes on... You can too!
11. We arrive at the point that may be most interesting: Particularly how to master the English language in public speaking despite possessing anxiety of sorts as well as uttering ESL correctly, confidently, fluently, and sounding as naturally as possible. Here is some food for thought served for you to partake of after every meal whilst sitting at the table in our non-native language.

How to get rid of speaking fear

1. Before entering the fray, focus on one-to-one conversations. It will result in easier and more manageable managing stressful and embarrassing situations, such as feeling unprepared including not being understood correctly. Conversing one on one is beneficial in improving everything relating to speaking your new language of learning. Remember that practicing is your best itinerary, so using various techniques, such as shadowing (observing and imitating repeating aloud), could suit you.
2. Surround yourself with supportive people. There are many ways to meet people interested in learning new languages, such as communities online, applications, or local events. Talking with peers can help you to face better difficulties in approaching, developing, and solidifying your new language of choice. In addition, it is funnier to get things wrong together.
3. Be all ears: you do not necessarily have to speak in every conversation. Infants don’t speak for many months, but they learn all by listening. If you find yourself in a group and you are a novice of the language spoken in that group, be an active listener. In this way, for example, you may find out things about their culture while simultaneously improving your pronunciation, enunciation, and intonation.
4. Read printed or line books: reading is one of the most ancient and powerful antidotes against the lack of a strong vocabulary knowledge of words in the language you are pursuing to learn. You can even start with children’s books. These are written for those who are beginning to read. This will give you the possibility to learn words in their appropriate context. This is exactly what the doctor ordered. An effective way to learn full sentences, then apply them in everyday practice is better than learning single words at the risk of being forgotten.
5. Listen to the music: linking words to the rhythm and melody helps your short-term memory to fix them. This is what exactly children do in preschool when they learn letters and numbers. So, choose a playlist with your favorite songs and learn their lyrics.
6. Good attitude is a must: you will not conquer your fears if you don’t practice soliloquizing. You must believe with much confidence that you can have a really good conversation and you will succeed! What you need to do is challenge and obliviate your negative thoughts, which may hinder your growth. Perfection doesn’t exist. Give yourself time, and you will really improve.
7. Exposure therapy: All these tips, dear learner, will be useless if you don’t apply the exposure therapy: the more you practice English in public with others your phobias will dissipate. Don’t conjure up excuses for your lack of growth in your endeavor to learn English. Doing so will embolden it more. Rather use topics with which you are more familiar, starting with short sentences. Use synonyms and explain concepts simplistically.

If you follow these few tips, you will make this ESL journey much more enjoyable and do so with expediency. Whatever you are thinking and wherever you are, this journey begins with the first step, no matter how long or short it may be. So if you want to take this trip, get to stepping!