Theodore Roosevelt once said: “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Have you ever heard of a mountain climber say to him/herself, before climbing a mountain, “there’s no way I’m going to make it to the top!” Of course not. A person with such a mindset would indeed probably fail.
Confidence is essential when it comes to language learning, especially in the Speaking part. Theodore Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor, once said something that I want you to re-read a couple of times because it is so important and so relevant to the study of a foreign language: “Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.”
Learning a language is all about expanding your comfort zone. Try not to have negative thoughts like: “Unless I learn at least 5000 words and go through this grammar book there’s no way I can talk in [insert target language]. Nobody would understand me!” “If I open my mouth they will probably all laugh at me.” Trust me! Things can change as soon as you push yourself to get outside that comfort zone we’re talking about.
Of course you may make grammar mistakes or you might pronounce some things in a wrong way and the other person won’t understand you, buy hey…. you’re learning…. right?
Have you ever had a feeling: ‘The more I learn the less I know?’
That’s the other very important thing to keep in mind: learning a language is a never-ending process, because a language is ALIVE, and that’s what’s so beautiful about it!
STAY POSITIVE!
Renata from teachmelanguage.eu