1. Don't be scared of mistakes.

How to get rid of the language barrier

Many of those who study English face the following problem: they have been learning English for many years, they know a lot of grammar rules, many words and expressions, but when it comes to talking to a real native speaker, all the knowledge goes down the drain. The problem is the language barrier. What is it? Why do people have it? How to get rid of it?

Language barrier is a psychological state when a person is too constraint to speak a foreign language. The person may speak English really well, be able to watch movies in English and read unabridged books, but be unable to speak.

The most frequent reason why people face this problem is negative impression and bad experience caused by English classes in school. The thing is that before students actually speak a foreign language, they have to learn grammar, tons of vocabulary. Only then they may be allowed to say a few words about the weather and tell who is on duty or absent today. Sure thing, the results aren’t good at all. Nobody says «good job», so students are't encouraged to speak well. First they teach one thing (grammar), but they require a different thing (speaking). It's like watching runners on TV, and then expect people to run just as fast. The worst case scenario is if you were laughed at when trying to speak.

This is why it's so hard to speak with natives. What if they don't understand me? What if my pronunciation is terrible? What if I use only 30 words?

Here are a few simple tips on how to get rid of the language barrier:

1. Don't be scared of mistakes.

Making mistakes is a part of any studying process, it's absolutely OK. Most likely the person you speak to will turn the blind eye to your mistakes as long as he or she can understand what you are saying. If something is not quite clear, the person will ask you to repeat.

⇐ Предыдущая 123 Следующая ⇒