All students, at least once in their life, have felt scared when socializing with a foreigner. Those memorizing new lexical units and reading dozens of books often get lost when it comes to communication. Because of that many learners feel like all their hard work doesn’t bring any results and thus give up halfway.
They should be more patient though. All the efforts they have made are not for nothing. To succeed, they have to cope with their worries first. Fear is what all learners face when socializing with foreigners.
Many educators say that this feeling often holds many students back from making satisfactory academic progress. Most learners become anxious when they try their language skills in a real situation. This is mainly because they are too shy, they don’t know enough words, or they simply don’t want to make mistakes.
While there are websites, like https://pro-papers.com/english-homework-help, which help with various academic assignments, they have little use when it comes to verbal communication. In fact, the only way to start communicating in a new language is literally to use a tongue and say a few words. Below, there are some powerful ways to combat this feeling.
Indicating the Cause of Anxiety
There are many things learners are afraid of. They don’t want to insult someone, be misunderstood, run of words, have a red face, and so forth. Not all causes are common for everyone. Some may be afraid of one thing or a combination of a few. Instructors always ask their students to identify their causes so that they can find the ways to deal with them easily.
Changing the Perception
It is in the nature of things that learners put their foot wrong when trying to use a new language in communication. Even though these slips can make foreigners giggle, there is no reason to feel embarrassed indeed.
In fact, native speakers don’t want to knock foreigners off-balance. Instead, they are probably intrigued that someone is interested in their culture and is able to socialize with them. The only way to cope with the fear of being confused is to perceive others in a completely different way and keep in mind that no one wants to embarrass anybody.
No Need to Rush It
Patience is what helps to combat fear. Unfortunately, many learners lack it and thus fail to communicate in new languages. Educators recommend their students don’t be in a hurry and give themselves some time for fighting anxiety. They are taught to repeat what is said in the movies they watch and once they gain confidence, they can practice their skills with their peers. This is an important step to take before socializing with a foreign person. Eventually, they will be able to work their way up to socializing with foreigners comfortably.
Practicing Face-to-Face Talks
What else students should do to enhance their confidence is to train with the help of face-to-face dialogues. While giving a speech in front of a crowd can be pretty confusing even if you use your native tongue, having one-on-one meetings can do the trick. You can develop your skills with your classmate, a foreigner, or any other person tending to give you a hand. It is much easier to combat the anxiety of making a slip in front of one person. A little practice will prepare you for talking in front of a crowd.
Managing Your Speech
A high speech tempo of foreigners can intimidate most students. What the latter should know is that they don’t have to adjust to someone’s speed of speaking. All they have to do is to manage their own one for more comfort.
Those declaring themselves too fast are likely to make more slips, which may add to their anxiety. Within school settings, teachers always ask their students to speak slowly so that they can avoid unnecessary mistakes. Just because the person you are socializing with speaks fast doesn’t mean that you have to speed your speech pace too. Making it slow will help you to communicate flawlessly.
Practicing Self-Talks
In this case, having an internal dialogue has nothing to do with mental disorders. In fact, there is no better person to have a conversation with to train language skills than yourself. We don’t attach significance to how many self-talks we have in our mother tongue during a day, and every learner can greatly benefit from these conversations when translating them. No matter whether you talk aloud or not, this will help you to prepare for socializing with others.
Breaking Through Your Own Barriers
Fear is caused by negative thinking which arises in our mind. Therefore, we have to cope with it in our head. Students usually confuse this feeling with the desire not to mess up. Thus, what often makes them fail to communicate in a new language is their ego. They are baffled with the concerns about how they will feel if they make a slip that they simply avoid speaking. That is what affects their progress a lot.
Therefore, teachers never laugh at the students’ mistakes as the latter ones are an inherent element of the learning process. Without them, it is impossible to keep something in mind for many years to come.
Listening Comes First
Mastering languages through listening is an effective way to develop speaking skills: the more one listens, the better his or her skills become. Many students ignore this fact and focus mainly on perusing books. However, there is no chance to start communicating without listening first. Reading doesn’t allow to pick up accents and pronunciation. Those who neglect using their ears tend to avoid verbal talks.
There is nothing odd about learners struggling with many difficulties which get in the way with their success. And keeping the tips mentioned above will help them to carry on conversations with foreigners soon enough.
