{"id":248,"date":"2025-03-16T17:05:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T17:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/?p=248"},"modified":"2025-03-16T17:10:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T17:10:03","slug":"how-to-reduce-foreign-language-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/spanish-blog\/how-to-reduce-foreign-language-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"How to reduce foreign language anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI don\u2019t remember the time when speaking didn\u2019t make me anxious\u201d<\/i><\/b>, she mumbled, still trying to smile but unable to look me in the eye. \u201cI feel you, sister\u201d, I wanted to say, to help share her painful load and to show her that I\u2019m proof of living with that anxiety, but now somewhat happily.<\/p>

The very same week my client told me about her anxiety when having to speak, I was reminded that anxiety doesn\u2019t really go away, no matter how many years of work you have under your belt.\u00a0Speech anxiety is another companion in some people\u2019s life journeys<\/b>. I joined an online discussion group, and we were in the introductions part. I could feel the tension in my stomach and my heartbeat speeding up.\u00a0The impulse of \u201cpreparing what I wanted to say\u201d instead of listening to the other participants was so loud! But I knew better, and after a moment of mild panic, I said to myself: \u201cBe present. Be\u00a0in<\/i>\u00a0the group. Listen to everyone as you\u2019d like them to listen to you and trust yourself to be able to say what you need to say when your turn comes\u201d.<\/b>\u00a0And, of course, I was still tense while listening to each introduction, the fear didn\u2019t go away, but at least I was present and trusting. And when my turn came, I introduced myself: \u201cMy name is Mar\u00eda, and I am nervous, like every single time that I\u00a0have to<\/i>\u00a0speak in a group\u201d.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The dissipating and connecting power of vulnerability\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Smiles and nods of understanding ensued. After me, every participant said the same: they were nervous.<\/p>

More often than not, what you experience is experienced by someone else in the group.<\/b>\u00a0Had I chosen not to voice my inner state of nervousness, nobody would have known that about me (we can be \u201cgreat pretenders\u201d). Or they would have thought I was just a stiff human being (because tension, fear, and nerves manifest themselves in aloofness sometimes). In any case, I would have left them the job to figure me out, which often leads to misguided interpretations.<\/p>

In this article,\u00a0I am talking about anxiety, the type of anxiety that prevents you from speaking in a group or expressing yourself in Spanish. The kind of anxiety that frustrates you, makes you sad or unsatisfied.<\/b><\/p>

But before I go on with ways to manage this kind of anxiety, it\u2019s essential to acknowledge that\u00a0you don\u2019t have to speak<\/b>. You can be in a group and not talk. We don\u2019t always have to have an opinion or something to say. And being silent in a group, listening, is more valuable than occupying air space for the sake of it, to have our voice heard or presence acknowledged even if we are not adding anything.
I say it one more time. You don\u2019t have to speak, so the pressure is off.<\/p>

\u00a0What\u2019s dramatic is when you do have something to say and don\u2019t say it.<\/b>\u00a0In this case, you owe to speak. You owe your words to the group. The group will suffer irreparable loss if you had something to say but didn\u2019t say it.<\/p>

What are the reasons that prevent us from speaking when we have something to say? Many and varied, but all boil down to one: fear.<\/b><\/p>

Fear of: \u201cnot being right\u201d, \u201cnot being understood\u201d, \u201cmaking a mistake\u201d, \u201cbeing laughed at \u201c, \u201cridicule\u201d, and the list goes on.<\/p>

Losing the opportunity to say what we want to say for these reasons feels icky. We feel frustrated, unseen, and a failure.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Types of Speaking Anxiety<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Before we continue, I want to separate two types of speaking anxiety that sometimes overlap but not necessarily.<\/p>

\u2013 Foreign Language Anxiety
\u2013 Social \/ Speech Anxiety<\/p>

Both affect the ability to speak in similar ways. Still, foreign language anxiety refers only to fear of speaking a foreign language, whereas social anxiety refers to any situation where we have to talk.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Three ways to manage social anxiety, applicable to foreign language anxiety too\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Basically, stop thinking about yourself. When you have to speak in a group, do a presentation o be in a situation that puts you at the centre of attention, your hands start to sweat and your heart race. This response is not rare or new. In\u00a0prehistoric times, humans perceived eyes watching us as an existential threat<\/a>\u00a0because those eyes were likely predators. Those prehistoric humans were terrified of being eaten alive. In response to that reality, the amygdala, the part of our brain that helps us respond to danger, became activated. And our fight-or-flight-or-freeze-or-fawn response gets triggered, which in return, we feel intense stress and anxiety.\u00a0<\/p>

Now, fast forward to current times. What does this response have to do with public speaking? A lot. When we have to speak in public, all eyes are on us. Remember the predators in prehistoric times? We feel the same way.<\/p>

What to do then?<\/p>

\u25b8 \u25b8 \u25b8\u00a0Shift the focus away from yourself<\/b>.<\/b>\u00a0It turns out the key to\u00a0calming the amygdala\u00a0<\/a>and deactivating our built-in panic button is to stop focusing on ourselves (on whether we will mess up or whether the audience will like us) and focus on helping the audience instead.<\/p>

\u25b8 \u25b8 \u25b8\u00a0Reframe your thinking about the situation<\/b>. Change your negative thoughts and worst-case scenarios into something positive (i.e. learning or growth opportunity) or generous (i.e. \u201cI\u2019m not sharing this for me but the audience, listener).<\/p>

\u25b8 \u25b8 \u25b8\u00a0Visualise<\/b>. This technique is my favourite because I get to \u201cexperience\u201d both my most feared\u00a0worst-case scenario<\/a>\u00a0and the best. Thinking about the worst that could happen helps me find solutions and ways to overcome that situation in advance, so I feel prepared, and my brain will also be prepared. Then I play out the best-case scenario. Why? Because it motivates me to keep working, training, improving\u2026 and because it\u2019s a pleasure.<\/p>

As Benjamin Disraeli said: \u201cI am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A way to manage Foreign Language Anxiety<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We\u2019ve seen three ways to manage social \/ speech anxiety in general, but I\u2019ve found that they apply to the more specific Foreign Language Anxiety. This anxiety is related to the act of speaking, listening and learning a foreign language. And it\u2019s rooted in three elements:<\/p>

\u2013\u00a0Fear of making a negative social impression<\/p>

\u2013\u00a0Fear of failing a test<\/p>

\u2013\u00a0Communication apprehension: This is connected with not accepting that, as beginners, we\u2019ll have difficulty expressing our thoughts and ideas in the target language. And you know how when we don\u2019t accept something, we create a block that prevents us from overcoming the very thing that we can\u2019t tolerate.<\/p>

So, the way to manage foreign language anxiety involves reframing (#2 in the previous section)<\/p>

1. Reframe the speaker\u2019s authority, making mistakes, having a strong accent\u2026\u00a0<\/b><\/p>

When we speak with a native speaker of our target language, we often see that person as an authority in the language (as if they owned the language and therefore we\u2019ll never be able to reach their level of mastery). There is no wonder that we feel intimidated! The truth is that nobody owns a language, not even native speakers. A language is a tool for communication and self-expression. This means that a native speaker will feel more comfortable using the language because they were born in it, and a non-native speaker will have an accent and occasionally make mistakes. That\u2019s all. The less intimidating and more encouraging way to see this situation is that you are putting yourself out there, making an effort, being vulnerable, learning and expanding your abilities. Now, this trumps the occasional mistake and unique accent, don\u2019t you think?<\/p>

2. Slow down.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>

Both the conversation and, when possible, having conversations in a foreign language.\u00a0<\/p>

If speaking in a foreign language raises your stress level, don\u2019t feel pressed to speak right away. Practise listening, reading and writing instead. And build your confidence at your rhythm.<\/p>

When you are having a conversation with a native speaker, give yourself time to think and respond, and most importantly, give yourself time to breathe. Breathing deeply will soothe your nervous system, preventing you from experiencing tunnel vision and accelerated heart rate. Think about it: when we have tunnel vision, we don\u2019t have access to the full extent of our knowledge in the language, so we don\u2019t find the words, make mistakes, and make you even more anxious.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI don\u2019t remember the time when speaking didn\u2019t make me anxious\u201d, she mumbled, still trying to smile but unable to look me in the eye. \u201cI feel you, sister\u201d, I […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-248","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spanish-blog","8":"category-education","9":"category-psychology","10":"czr-hentry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions\/256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}