I used to be very self conscious on what comes to using foreign languages. Finnish is my mother tongue. My second language is Swedish and third English. I can also speak a bit Northern Sámi and at the moment I’m learning Russian at school. I’m pretty shy and quiet. So I know what I’m talking about. Just a few years ago I couldn’t speak any foreign language with a stranger if I had a choice. Now I’ve come far from that and I hope you will too! So, let’s begin.
Be kind to yourself
I know it can be hard but trust me it’s totally worth it! You don’t have to learn the whole language over night. Just take your time and believe in yourself.
Don’t apologize for your accent
You’re here the one learning a new language. In this case ’new’ means you already can speak some other language(s). And you know what? It’s freaking awesome!
It’s not a big deal to make a mistake
So why make it one? Everyone makes mistakes. Even native speakers! And you’re not different. Oh and remember to not take it personally if someone corrects you. They're probably just trying to help.
Speak!
Talk with someone, sing, read out loud... Do something that makes you use your voice. It'll improve your pronunciation. I’m 100% aware how hard it can be talking to strangers. But here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to be a stranger. You can talk to yourself (read texts out loud for example) or with a friend. I got a pen pal and it really helped. First we just wrote to each other but later we started to do video chat. Now she’s one of my best friends.
Laugh and have fun
Laugh is a good solution to almost everything. (Except to something really serious... Please, don’t laugh to really serious things.) I once heard somewhere that if you do something embarrassing, you should laugh it off. So the next time I made a mistake while speaking a foreign language I laughed it off. Now I know there was absolutely no reason to feel embarrassed but back then I didn’t. So, even if making mistakes while speaking isn’t something embarrassing, when you make them, laugh. It makes the whole learning process funnier and so easier.
I hope you liked my article and got some help if that's what you were looking for. Maybe you'll hear about me again. Bye (for now)
- Jasmin
