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Make mistakes!
This probably sounds a bit counterintuitive coming from a language learning tip, but it's actually a very important, and difficult, lesson to learn. One of the things that can prevent you from improving your language skills, particularly pronunciation and conversation skills, is the fear of looking silly, or being embarrassed by making a mistake in public. You don't want the class, or the ticket agent at the train station, or possibly a foreign colleague, to think you're an idiot, or hear you say something that is accidentally inappropriate or embarrassing. Of course, I can't tell you to just not be afraid. For many people, that won't come very easily. Or it certainly doesn't for me at least. Just try to start small. Make an effort to answer a question or two in your Spanish class, insert a French word or phrase into the conversation with your French co-worker, or say Nín hǎo (Hello, in Mandarin Chinese) to the ticket agent. Your pronunciation probably won't be great, and your grammar might not be either, and they may smile, or even laugh, and possibly speak to you in English anyway, but most people really do appreciate the effort. And just like that, you've already started improving your ability to communicate in a foreign language. Plus, the second time is always much easier than the first, and the more words you say, the more your mouth will get used to the sounds, and the more your mind will get used to hearing the language spoken. Eventually, you can move on to sentences and even conversations when you're comfortable. So if you travel abroad this holiday, try to go beyond those emphatic hand gestures with the store clerk or hotel receptionist. Smile, and do your best to say a few words in the language. It won't be great the first time or even the first few times. However, as the saying goes, you'll learn from your mistakes - and you won't if you never do enough to make them. For more on conquering your pronunciation fears, click here to read about pronouncing Arabic. Tags: conversation, language learning, newsletter, pronunciation
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