When I was in school I was so shy! I would always sit near the back. I rarely would raise my hand to answer a question. I spoke quietly. I was so afraid people in class would make fun of me. I was bullied in school. Students would point and laugh at me. I lost all confidence/self esteem. I actually begged my mom to let me switch to a different school. It's normal to make mistakes when you're learning. That's a part of learning. If no one made mistakes then what kind of world would that be?

Hi @HONEY LINN,

I can feel you! What helped me a lot is talking to myself. Sounds maybe a bit strange but my fear was that big that I couldn't say a single word in french. It was just impossible. No word left my mouth besides "Bonjour".

The next thing that helped me is listening to podcasts in a foreign language. But only podcasts that I found interesting or hilarous. Fun has an immense impact on improving language skills.

Finally, don't go for a marathon but start with a 10 min walk :-)

All the best!

Cecilia

Dear @Alice

it is so true and relatable to me. Thanks for your sharing and pointing out that no one could be perfect as a human being. I love your sincerity and sympathy...😍

Dear @Alice

In my opinion, this fear caused by my shyness. I guess I am an introvert and get shy easily to talk to other who I don’t know yet very well, even though I sincerely want to make friends with them. But I always think that what if I am not good enough in speaking and might make mistakes to get them wrong idea about me and finally it happened to keep quiet rather than making friends. 😅

I don't have a shred of it now but I can recall a time nearly four decades ago when I did as a teenager. The odd part is that I don't recall doing anything specific to get rid of it, that just happened as a part of growing up and getting more exposed to the world.

In retrospect I know why anyone has it. It's a lack of self confidence in a public setting and a fear of ridicule, sometimes called social anxiety. Teenagers can be very unfeeling to their peers and single out some to ridicule them viciously, which is why many teenagers have social anxiety.

Very often this persists into adult life, but mine didn't. I realized that I often knew more than many others and that my language too was better than most. I have spoken to a lot of complete strangers since then, held classes and training sessions (no, my main profession isn't teaching) and addressed all sizes of audiences. It's not my preferred activity as an introvert, but I can easily do it as well or better than most.

Confidence is the main ingredient. It forms the very basis of personality and can be developed.