If you feel anxiety when speaking your target language, you are not alone!
Language. It is at the core of everything we do. We speak, read, dream, think, and problem-solve with words. Language enables us to develop relationships, communicate our wants and needs, and understand one another.
Simple sounds combined in specific orders turn into words. Words turn into sentences. Sentences have the potential to turn into ideas as complex as presidential speeches, epic novels, or advanced medical research.
Somewhere in between, we have the day to day conversations that make up the majority of our lives. Time with family, phone calls with colleagues, texting friends, and intimate conversations with our spouse. All of these moments made possible by the participants sharing a common language.
We develop the skill of our mother tongue by absorbing the conversations around us until we can speak for selves. Once we reach adulthood, our mother tongue is embedded into our long term memory, making speaking mostly automatic.
Those of us privileged enough to speak our mother tongue in all aspects of our lives may not give this idea much thought. However, those who have to switch to a second language when they are outside of their family home will understand the complexity of this.
I fall into the category of those who speak their mother tongue in (almost) all aspects of their life. I am a native English speaker living in the U.S. and can talk my way in and out of pretty much any situation. That is until I decided to study a foreign language. I don’t mean study by taking a required language course and getting by with a C, just to remember nothing a few months later. I mean genuinely making an effort to communicate with native speakers in a language brand new to me.
Here is what I have learned in the process:
1.) Foreign Language Anxiety
Yep. Foreign Language Anxiety is a real thing. There is even a fancy seven-syllable word for it: xenoglossophobia. FLA is the feeling of unease, fear, and apprehension that can occur while speaking a language other than one’s native tongue.
My first encounter with FLA felt similar to the symptoms of situational anxiety. I went to say a sentence I rehearsed in my mind a thousand times, out-loud to native speakers for the first time. I could feel my cheeks immediately begin to burn, and my fight or flight instinct kick in. My internal voice was telling me, “Hey! What are you doing? This is dangerous territory! Go back to your comfort zone!” And just like that, my rehearsed sentence came out of my mouth shaky and mispronounced.
After months of trying to shake this feeling, I began to do some research. It turns out; many people feel these exact symptoms. FLA does not just affect new language learners, but even those who are advanced with years of experience.
My next question, why? I accept that I will make mistakes and speak with an accent. I know that I must speak out loud to become better. Why do I still feel so anxious and vulnerable when speaking my second language?
2.) Language Learning Challenges Our Self Image and Self-Efficacy
Merely speaking, self-image is how we perceive ourselves, and self-efficacy is the belief in our abilities to accomplish our goals. Almost everything we do is in service to our self-image and fueled by our self-efficacy. Our clothing, food, the way we write about our selves in a job application, and our Instagram captions are all in service to our self-image. Not having complete control of a language hinders the ability to reinforce these self-actualizing ideas through conversation. This then leads to the feeling of anxiety many experience when speaking their target language.
When I am speaking a language other than my own, I am no longer an effortless communicator. What was once second nature responses now have roadblocks of memory, pronunciation, and even complex cultural norms. When speaking with a native speaker of my target language, I am putting myself in a situation where mistakes are inevitable, which can feel unsettling. Self-image is not something we like having challenged, and FLA is our subconscious way of trying to protect us from vulnerability.
3.) Compassion and Respect For Fellow Language Learners
I spent the majority of my life unaware of the countless hours of studying, memorization, cultural immersion, listening, speaking, and writing that go into becoming “fluent” in a language. Realizing that those around me speaking English as their second language may be experiencing FLA in some way has made me more aware of the way I chose my words and more compassionate in conversation.
I am practicing more concise communication by slowing down my speech, speaking with more intention, and trying to cut out unnecessary words or phrases. This realization has even impacted the way I speak with fellow native speakers and is improving my overall communication skills. I have so much admiration for those around me who speak their second language with control.
Speaking a new language takes courage.
If you are reading this and have reached a conversational level in a new tongue, I hope you take pride in this! No matter where you are in your language learning journey, I applaud you for your efforts and wish you success.
In Conclusion:
Learning a language is unsettling psychologically, as the process challenges our self-image and self-efficacy. Without relying on our first language, the ability to portray what we understand about our selves becomes difficult. Discovering Foreign Language Anxiety helped me to realize that I was not alone in this feeling. I have become a more self-aware communicator. I have developed a deep admiration for courageous language learners. I hope that by bringing awareness to FLA, other native speakers can be more compassionate to those around them. I hope that those who have successfully learned a new language can commend themselves for this incredible accomplishment.
Language is how we connect and is at the basis of everything we do. By learning more languages, we can connect with more people. The overall goal is to get our ideas across to one another; perfection is not necessary. Although challenging, language learning is a rewarding journey I encourage everyone to embark on.
