Feelings of Embarrassment

When first learning a new language, it can be very overwhelming! It’s natural to feel embarrassed when
practicing (especially around people who are fluent in English already). These feelings arise because you
(and many other ESL learners) feel like you can’t express yourself properly. Things that would normally
be easy to ask for, like “can I have a cup of water?” becomes infinitely more difficult when you have to
think about each of the words and how to combine them in the new language. To conquer this fear of
embarrassment, it’s important to practice as much as possible. The easiest way is to do so alone, in your
room or another comfortable space, where you can actually speak the language out loud. Reading to
yourself (again, out loud) is a great way to practice hearing the sounds and formulating the words with
your tongue and mouth. That way, once you feel more confident in your ability to speak, you can do so
with others! The other important thing to remember is that this is the second language (or possibly even
third or fourth) that you are learning – so, don’t be embarrassed by adding one more to your repertoire;
it’s incredibly impressive!