I am happy to share another student success story with you this week; however, this time I am sharing the story of a personal student of mine. My goal with these success stories is to show you that reaching English goals is a possibility, and you too can achieve success! Mauricio Bucci has been learning English with me for the past few years. We started his English journey in San Diego, while he was attending a language school I was teaching at. He then moved to online lessons via Skype with me, and English Outside the Box, when he returned home to Brazil.

His dedication to mastering English has always stood out to me, and I knew his goal to speak English fluently would be easy to attain with his drive and motivation. Over the past few years, he’s achieved a lot with English. He successfully wrote an entire screenplay in English and formed a band, Out of the Blue, which sings exclusively in English. This band has already toured in Europe and is also planning a tour in the States very soon.

So why am I sharing his story?

Because as you know, speaking in a new language is difficult. As adults, we feel embarrassed to make mistakes and shy to talk with others, especially native speakers. So imagine not only speaking in front of other people, but writing songs and singing publicly to the world! This takes courage, and I want to share this courage with you. I’ve asked Mauricio to share his top 3 tips on overcoming the fear when speaking English, hoping to motivate you to overcome these same obstacles.

This interview lesson will also help you with listening comprehension today, but don’t worry, you are able to read more of the details from this interview below. So, grab a piece of paper and a pen to take notes on how you can overcome shyness when speaking English and begin to speak English fluently today!

Before we get into the tips in this lesson, let’s review some of the vocabulary from the interview.

Vocabulary

goals to aspire to: goals and things you want to achieve, that you strive for

kick off: start

tricky: difficult

lyrics: the words of a song

to have a blast: to have a really good experience

3 Tips to Overcome Fear when Speaking English

1. Don’t feel shy when speaking: If you are shy, and you feel timid then your mind will block what you want to express and say. Relax, just speak and try to communicate! In order to overcome that shyness, let the listener know that you aren’t a native English speaker. By doing this, you often get encouragement from the person you’re talking to and that can motivate you to speak even more. It will be clear that you aren’t a native speaker, and the person you’re talking to knows this — so don’t worry!
2. Always speak to yourself if you don’t have anyone to speak to. Try and stop thinking in your native language, and while you are doing things throughout the day, think (and say aloud) what you want to do, need to do, and what you are doing. As you speak to yourself, you’ll begin to build that English fluency. You can also read text aloud, which will allow you to practice pronunciation, and more importantly get comfortable ‘hearing’ yourself in English. Get comfortable with your own voice, in English!
3. Watch as many movies as possible. By watching movies, you’ll hear a variety of actors speak in a natural (fast) pace. You’ll also hear a variety of accents. Make sure you do this with subtitles so you can connect the words you hear to the words that you see.

Mauricio’s final tip for everyone reading this, learning English, and trying to achieve fluency:

Don’t stop learning, and never stop seeking grammar. Grammar is going to put you forward in the business….

So, are you feeling motivated to go out and speak English with everyone you see? Are you ready to overcome your fear and start speaking English fluently?

As you know, practice makes perfect, so I want you to try and apply at least one of these tips to your life today.

• Will you introduce yourself to another person in English and start a conversation?
• Can you start thinking in English?
• Are there any movies you want to watch?

Let me know in the comments about what you are doing to overcome your fear, and I wish you the best of luck!

Do you know someone learning English and trying to overcome a fear of speaking English? Please, share this article with them! As always…

Happy Studying! ♥

If you want to have speak better English, then take the advice from this lesson and improve your grammar skills! Learn more about Everyday English Grammar by clicking here