What really makes it daunting for a person to attempt speaking English is not actually the fear of making a mistake but rather, the aftermath of it. Minor stares and barely audible words of judgement that come after are usually never noticed by anyone else but you. It is somehow amplified by ten fold when it comes to your own point of view. That is where fear usually comes to play. You fear that a simple lost syllable or a mispronounced syllable would immediately be seen as your level in English competency as a whole which is an unfair view.
Hence, let’s address both sides of the fence in order to break the fence down.
For the speaker, how about you start off with finding a person that you find comfortable making mistakes around. A person who is willing to spend their time with you and assist you in practising how you speak English. That would be a good start. Begin with a few little discussions and see how far you can push your language performance. Imagine yourself as a small infant who has just begun to speak and every day, there is a new word to learn and pronounce. Subsequently, the child begins to make utterances where later it would evolve into proper sentence formation and speech growth. Making errors is natural for everyone learning a new language, whether they are newborns, children, or adults. Don’t let your blunders stop you from communicating to others. And for that trusted friend, put your friend on the highest pedestal you can find while making sure he or she will be grounded to the reality that he or she will improve.
Now as that friend, your job is to be supportive and that is definitely easier said than done. Maintaining a thoughtful discourse with them while keeping them in check is the hardest thing to do as emotionally, you would not want to discourage someone, especially a friend. You need to be at your most sensible state because whatever comes, you need to know that you are the only person that the speaker trusts and that your affirmation means the whole world to them. Every mistake they make is something for you to take note of. Choose a topic they are passionate about if they have the opportunity. If they are unable to select a topic, consider taking an approach to a topic that interests them by trying to engage in normal conversations. Remember that each of your opinions would be valued highly by them. We all grew up speaking the same language and are fluent in it. In such lingo, we could even think that we are clever and witty. We can comfortably engage in discussions on a wide range of fascinating and complex issues. However, that changes when we switch languages. That tonal shift is definitely drastic to anyone who has that lack of proficiency in the English language.
To encapsulate, speaking a language that is not your native tongue may be humiliating and terrifying. You may be concerned that others will make fun of your pronunciation or that they will be unable to understand you. These worries are understandable, but the best way to overcome them is to get out there and speak English to as many people as possible, which begins with a decent and compassionate friend. It is similar to learning to drive a car. The first few times out on the road are daunting, but with caring people around helping you, driving will get easier with time.
