Hey guess what?! When you speak (ANY language), you will make mistakes.
You will...
Forget even the easiest grammar structures.
Make grammar mistakes in general.
Forget the vocabulary words you learned the day before.
Not know what word/s to use when you are explaining something.
Get stuck and not be able to continue speaking.
Say something ridiculous.
Say something that nobody understands.
Okay, okay Claire... why are you telling me this!?!?
Because those mistakes mean that you are learning.
Being able to speak another language is awesome.
You can (imperfectly) communicate with so many more people.
You can feel more independent when you travel.
You can feel more confident in your job.
You can learn and understand new cultures through language.
You can have secret conversations that the people around you don't understand 😈.
You can use AI translators as an aid, but you don't have to feel dependent on them.
You can watch TV and listen to music in the original version.
You can be an example to your kids or your friends.
And best of all?
You can and you should feel so impressed with your achievements, even if they're just little steps for the beginning.
Okay Claire, great, but I didn't study English at school...how will I ever learn?
All you need is persistence!
The only thing you need to work on is your mindset.
The rest you can Google!
So tell me, are you okay with making some mistakes today?
One final note - native speakers make mistakes in their own language! I say this all the time, but it's so important that you understand this. Perfection in spoken communication doesn't exist. To learn to speak another language, you have to practice speaking. When you start, you will make mistakes, and you will learn from them. The more you speak, the more mistakes you will make, and the more you will learn, and little by little, you will make less silly mistakes, and start making bigger mistakes. You will learn from those too. This is the language learning process. So please, don't let your fear of making mistakes stop you from trying.
Glossary
to get stuck: a phrasal verb to say - to be blocked, unable to move forward
an aid: something that provides help or assistance
impressed: adjective - to feel admiration or satisfaction
to work on: a phrasal verb to say - to dedicate time and energy to something
silly: adjective - funny, insignificant, trivial
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