Have you ever wondered what stops you from speaking in English?
The answer is FEAR. Rohan, a college student was once asked by his classmate – Do you have the tests papers? He perfectly understood the question but wasn’t sure what to answer. The simple answer that came to his mind at that moment was – Yes, I have it. However, he preferred to answer in Hindi and replied – Haan, mere pass hai. Though Rohan knew the answer, yet he replied in Hindi because of the fear in his mind. He thought – What if I make a mistake? Or even if this answer is right, what if the person continues speaking in English and I cannot answer? What if others laugh at me? These fears stopped Rohan from even trying to speak in English. Have you too faced similar situations?
Let’s see how we can overcome the fear of speaking in English with the acronym FEAR itself:
- Face your fear – If we want to overcome any fear, the first step is facing it with courage. Most people run away from their fear or avoid it. Though this may help us feel better temporarily the problem still remains. The better option is to accept the problem and face it courageously. Napolean Hill says that “Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.” And taking a decision to face our fears is the first step towards success.
- Every day take small steps – Learning English is easy but it cannot be done overnight. One needs to take small steps each and every day. You could pick up a book in English and begin reading it or switched on your TV and watch an English channel. You may even join a Spoken English class where you will be trained by professionals and get to interact with other students who want to learn English just like you. Just as we have our meals daily, we need to take small simple steps towards learning English every day.
- Attempt speaking – This is the most important step. Once you have spent some time reading, listening and learning English vocabulary, the next step is to start speaking. You don’t have to wait to start speaking till you become perfect. You can start by simple greetings like wishing people Good morning, Good evening, How are you? When you start speaking, choose friends or people who will encourage you even if you make mistakes. This will motivate you to try rather than give up.
- Repeat correct sentences – In your journey of Spoken English, you may make some mistakes. Tell people to correct your mistakes and repeat the correct sentence. When we repeat a statement, it becomes clear in our mind which will enable us to use it correctly next time.
Remembering the acronym FEAR – Face your fear, every day take small steps, attempt speaking and repeating correct sentences, you can overcome your fear of speaking in English. Following these simple steps will enable you to open your account in the Spoken English Bank. Next, you need to keep on making regular deposits by learning new words and using them. With time and practice, you will become rich in your Spoken English skills.