Here’s the hardest part, hands down, of learning any language, ever. Harder than memorizing tenses. Harder than subjunctive conjugations. Harder even still than negative mandates in the pluperfect oh my gosh my head hurts. Are you ready?
The hardest part of learning a language, no matter which language it is, is getting over the embarrassment of actually speaking it.
If you just rolled your eyes, you’re either lying to yourself or you’re one of those extremely rare people who doesn’t suffer from crippling embarrassment when forced to speak in another language. Or you’re European. Regardless, you’re an exception to the rule. Learning a language is all kinds of difficult, but the part that usually teeters out close to that ledge called “forget this, I’m going home” is the speaking bit. You know, the whole point of having learned this foreign tongue in the first place.
There are myriad ways you can learn a new language. You can pay lots of money to take big fancy classes. You can study at home using effective tools like Cram.com or homemade flashcards, which may require more self-discipline but are definitely cheaper than the aforementioned classes. All those ideas are great, and they’re effective steps in starting to learn a new language.
The thing is, none of that will make much of a difference if you don’t get over your fear of having to speak the words you’ve memorized. There’s a really good chance you’re just afraid to sound stupid or make a mistake. So here are a few tips for overcoming that seemingly insurmountable obstacle:
Accept the fact that you are indeed going to sound stupid and make a mistake. Actually, scratch that. You’re not going to make a mistake. You’re going to make lots of mistakes. But that’s ok! Making mistakes is how we learn. Following that logic, the more mistakes the better! If you’re traveling around, you don’t have time to worry about mistakes. Focus on all the cool monuments and stuff all around you, and be cool.
Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Remember that time somebody was making an honest, admirable effort to converse with you in your native language and you couldn’t stop laughing at them? Oh wait, you have a soul and that never happened? Yeah, it takes a real punk to judge somebody for bettering themselves by speaking a second (or third, or fourth – yeah, I’m looking at you, Europeans!) language. Most of the time, we admire these educated folks’ efforts and help them along should they need our assistance. Take note.
Remember that the point of leaning a language isn’t perfection. It’s communication. This is perhaps one of the simplest truths of learning a language, and yet it’s the often the hardest one to remember. We rarely study languages to become fluent and appear to be native speakers. I mean, that’s a fantastic goal, but it requires a level of dedication the average adult doesn’t have time for. More likely, you’re studying Spanish to be able to ask where the bathroom is, or where you can find some decent jamon con quesoin this joint. If you’re able to get your point across, you’ve accomplished your primary goal.
