ESL Blogs

I just got a message from a friend who had written weeks ago. He wanted to know how he could speak out loud without being shy and afraid. He worries that people will correct or criticize his speaking. Those who will correct us are our best friends.

Shyness is natural and criticism is important.  If others cannot criticize and correct us we cannot learn. I am now learning Arabic and face the same feelings as you.  I don't like to make mistakes, but it is how I learn the correct way of saying things.

We must just do the way little children do and speak without fear of correction,  because correction is the quickest way for us to learn.  You have seen children learning to walk.  They try to stand and take a step, but they fall back down.  If they had the same fear that we do as older people, they would never walk.  

We must be like the child who keeps getting up and trying over and over, even though we will fall again.

You may think, What if they laugh at me? 

Does laughter hurt?  Laugh at yourself right now.  I am laughing at myself. I am only a beginner in Arabic.

Are children hurt when they fall? Maybe they are hurt a little, but falling teaches them to walk.  

Will you learn to speak English well?  You can speak English very well someday, but you must have many falls along the way.

Your other choice is to spend the rest of your life crawling.  

It is your choice to make.  

Will you walk or will you crawl?  I will walk someday, even if it is painful.