
2023-08-22T12:16:52 445
Asanon-nativeEnglishspeaker,Ihavealwaysstruggledwithconfidenceinmyspeaking.Evenafteryearsofstudyingandpracticing,myvoiceoftenquiverswhenIspeakEnglish.Thishasbeenasourceoffrustrationandembarrassmentforme,butIhavecometounderstandthatitisacommonexperienceandsomethingthatIcanworkon.
MyfearofspeakingEnglishstemsfromearlyexperiencesofridiculeandalienation.Asachildinanon-Englishspeakingcountry,EnglishwasaforeignlanguagethatIstruggledtolearn.WhenIfinallymovedtoanEnglish-speakingcountryformystudies,Ifounditdifficulttomakefriendsorexpressmyselfinalanguagethatstillfeltunfamiliar.IfoundthatIoftenhesitatedandsecond-guessedmyself,afraidofmakingmistakesorbeingmisunderstood.
Breakingthecycleoffeariseasiersaidthandone,butitispossible.Thefirststepistoacknowledgethefearandacceptitasanaturalpartofthelearningprocess.Ihavefoundthatpracticinginlow-stakesenvironments,suchaslanguageexchangeprogramsorwithfriendswhoarepatientandunderstanding,canhelpbuildupconfidence.Ialsotrytoremindmyselfthatmakingmistakesisnormalandthatitisthroughmakingmistakesthatwelearnandimprove.
Inrecentyears,IhavebeenabletomakeprogressinfindingmyvoiceandspeakingEnglishwithgreaterconfidence.Thishasbeenthroughacombinationofpractice,patience,andawillingnesstotakerisksandmakemistakes.IhavefoundthatfocusingonwhatIwanttoconvey,ratherthantheperfectwordingorgrammar,canhelpmespeakmorenaturally.Ihavealsolearnedtoletgoofmyfearofbeingjudgedandtofocusonthejoyofspeakingandconnectingwithothers.
WhileIstillhavemomentswheremyvoicequivers,Iamnolongerheldbackbyfear.SpeakingEnglishhasbecomeasourceofprideandaccomplishment,andIamgratefulforthejourneythathasledmehere.