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Hello and welcome to 6 Minute
English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Pippa. And I'm Beth.
Have you ever been scared
of speaking in English?
In this episode,
we're talking about why
speaking in a foreign language
can be so stressful.
So, Pippa, do you ever get nervous
speaking in a different language?
Yes, I learnt French
when I was younger
and I was actually quite good
at it, I think,
but I was really nervous when
I was speaking French. How about you?
Yeah, I've always felt
like that with Spanish.
I am scared to speak because
I don't want to make mistakes,
even though I know
it's OK to make mistakes.
Well, in this episode
of 6 Minute English,
we'll be hearing about how to feel
less nervous when you speak English.
And as usual, we'll be learning
some useful new words and phrases.
You can practise these
with the quiz and worksheet
on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
But first I have a question
for you, Pippa.
So, English has around
one million words, but on average,
how many words does a typical English
speaker use in daily conversation?
Is it a) between 2000 and 3000?
b) between 20000 and 30000.
Or c) between 200000 and 300000.
I'm going to say a) 2000 to 3000.
OK. Well we will find out later
in the programme.
Now, Pippa, you said you found
it stressful speaking in French,
even though you are quite good at it.
Now, someone else who has had
this experience is Hanan Razek.
Hanan is a journalist at BBC Arabic
and also host of the podcast
Beating Speaking Anxiety.
Here she is telling BBC
Learning English presenter Georgie
about speaking English.
My English was actually pretty good
but having conversations with people,
I found it really difficult.
So when I first joined the BBC, the
Learning English team made an assessment
of my English level, which
they used to do for all new joiners
to see if they need any help
or courses.
My results were pretty good
and I was fluent.
But on that very same day,
leaving the building
and going to get some coffee,
I couldn't really understand
what the barista was saying,
and I felt pretty nervous
to order coffee
and was trying to stress
every single word,
hoping that my grammar is correct
and I am pronouncing the words right.
Yeah, I'm sure that's a situation
lots of people can relate to.
Hanan's results on her
English assessment were pretty good,
but she was still pretty nervous
to speak in English,
for example when ordering a coffee
in English.
The modifier
pretty means quite or a bit.
Georgie says
that Hanan's experience is something
that lots of people can relate to.
If you relate to a situation,
you know what it feels like,
usually because
a similar thing has happened to you.
So lots of people feel nervous
speaking another language,
even if they're good at it,
like Hanan
We can call this speaking anxiety.
Anxiety means
an uncomfortable feeling or worry
about something that is happening
or could happen in the future.
So why do so many people have anxiety
about speaking a foreign language?
Experts think it's connected to
the beliefs we have about ourselves.
Han Luo, professor of Chinese at
Lafayette College in the United States,
explains more to BBC
Learning English presenter Georgie.
You know, usually the beliefs that cause
anxiety, especially severe anxiety,
are, we call it irrational beliefs.
And also like, uh,
some low self-perceptions, um, fear
of negative evaluation, all those
learner internal, you know, factors.
And Han says that learners worry
about mistakes
because they're scared
of negative evaluation.
In other words,
that people will judge them for their
mistakes and think badly of them.
Han argues that irrational beliefs
can make us anxious.
Irrational beliefs are beliefs that
aren't based on things that are true.
They're not logical.
Han says some people who have speaking
anxiety have low self-perceptions.
Your self-perception is
what you think about yourself.
Self-perception and irrational
beliefs are both internal factors.
They come from inside your head,
not from the people around you.
So, for example,
when you speak your first language, you
might feel confident and intelligent,
but when you speak in a new language,
you make mistakes
and feel less confident.
You can't show people what you're
really like, and this is frustrating.
But as we tell people all the time
at BBC Learning English,
mistakes are normal.
You have to try to speak,
even though you make mistakes,
and mistakes can be a good thing.
They can help us learn.
And if you want
more tips to improve your speaking,
listen to the Beating
Speaking Anxiety podcast.
There's a link
in the notes below this episode.
But Beth, I think it's time
for the answer to your quiz question.
Yes, I asked you how many words
does the average English speaker use
in daily communication?
The answer is 20000 to 30000.
That's quite a lot.
Yeah.
That's loads.
OK, let's recap the vocabulary
we've learnt. Pretty can be used
as a modifier to mean quite or a bit.
If you relate to a person
or situation
you understand them, usually because
you've experienced something similar.
Anxiety is feeling uncomfortable
or worried
about something that is happening
or could happen in the future.
Irrational beliefs are beliefs
about something that is not true.
They're not logical.
Self-perception is
the way you see yourself. And
internal means
inside the body or mind.
Once again, our six minutes are up.
But if you'd like to find out more
about speaking anxiety,
then head over to our website,
bbclearningenglish.com to find
our Beating Speaking Anxiety series.
There are podcasts
about the things we find scary
when speaking a different language,
and videos with tips to help you feel
more confident with speaking.
Thanks for joining us
and goodbye. Goodbye.
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 15foreign language
collocation
0:19
"a language that is not the one you grew up speaking."
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Explore why so many learners feel anxious about speaking English and how to overcome that fear in this 6 Minute English episode.