fluency in english

[Anonymous]

my problem is that i know english but when it comes to speaking in front of others i get totaly nervous .and i want to learn more and more new words

[Tdol]

It is a question of confidence and practice. Anyone who can come out with things like 'when it comes to speaking' shouldn't worry about their language. Under what circumances do you have to use English?

[christina]

Take it from an long time learner of English as a second language -- the fear of making an a** of yourself in front of native speakers just never stops! In a way it even gets worse. But that shouldn't stop us from communicating in English. No risk - no glory. :D

[Tdol]

It's an illogical fear once past the initial stages of learning a language. Anyway most English speakers are monolingual, so we haven't got anything to feel clever about on that score.

[RonBee]

Take it from an long time learner of English as a second language -- the fear of making an a** of yourself in front of native speakers just never stops! In a way it even gets worse. But that shouldn't stop us from communicating in English. No risk - no glory. :D

May I ask what your first language is? (You seem to me to be doing quite well.)

BTW, welcome to the forum. :D

8)

[christina]

Take it from an long time learner of English as a second language -- the fear of making an a** of yourself in front of native speakers just never stops! In a way it even gets worse. But that shouldn't stop us from communicating in English. No risk - no glory. :D

May I ask what your first language is? (You seem to me to be doing quite well.)

BTW, welcome to the forum. :D

8)

German. And thanks welcoming me. :)
I was serious when I said that the more I learn the worse my performance anxiety gets - your standards just get higher and higher.

Can I ask a question too? Is this site based out of England? And who runs it and why is it free? Questions answered for free - that's just too good to be true! :wink:

[Tdol]

It's based in England, but many of the people involved, like Ron, are American.

[christina]

It's an illogical fear once past the initial stages of learning a language. Anyway most English speakers are monolingual, so we haven't got anything to feel clever about on that score.

I don't know maybe it is just that I didn't study hard enough, but sometimes I won't know the simplest words from everyday life because I never have to use them here (not abroad! I was thinking from your perspective which doesn't make sense but never mind!) or I can't follow a simple conversation because there is a lot of background noise (like in a pub or bar) or people have funny accents (well funny to me anyway haha) that sort of thing you know. I find this utterly embarrassing.

I get the impression that only native speakers of English who struggled with learning a second language are impressed by proficiency - the rest just takes it for granted more or less.

[christina]

It's based in England, but many of the people involved, like Ron, are American.

It's not that I hate British English or anything. :) But I feel closer to American English and at work I get this "American English is inferior" crap all the time which annoys the hell out of me. :)

[Tdol]

That's a sad reflection on us. No form's better. It's sad to hear people banging on about Shakespeare as a justification for claiming to be superior. English blossomed into its current status through AE, which took over along time ago as the driving force of its international status. ,