Hey there, this is Teacher ola podcast episode 1: 5 Causes of Language barriers and how to tackle them.
My name’s Ola and I am an online English teacher.
This podcast is for you if you’re an English learner who wants to speak English with more confidence and get rid of speaking barriers. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar, improve your pronunciation, see how to have a tense-free conversation with another English-speaking human being! Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. Happy learning!
Thank you for tuning in! This episode is transcribed and you can find the whole text on my website. Go there because you also need to see the worksheet. It’ll help you to digest and test all the things covered in this episode, so please go to teacherola.com/1, teacherola.com/1
Now. Being afraid of speaking English is common. It might help you if you realize it is common, it isn’t you. It’s not only your problem, you are not a problem. It’s normal. Especially for us, Polish people.
So, today I want to look at the blockade from different angles and make a list of common reasons, why we are afraid of speaking.
This topic is vast and it’s impossible to deal with it in this one particular episode, so be assured, language barrier will be discussed more in future episodes.
Today I’m going to list 5 most common causes of the blockade. Next, I’m going to give you some tips on how to eliminate them. Let’s do this.
1) Lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem
The big one! Serious one! And do not underestimate it. It might be your key issue. I know it really well so I feel for you! I know exactly how it feels and I know it’s tough. You won’t hear me saying: Hey, it’s easy, stop being silly, get out of your comfort zone. Nah-ah! Low self-esteem is a real struggle but your quality of life depends on you getting rid of it!
When I said this cause number one is serious, I meant it. I will definitely talk more about this because there are many techniques you can employ here. Today I’m going to give you my personal tiny little secret. One day I heard it somewhere, and it really sank in. Treat yourself better. Stop telling yourself bad things, criticising yourself. Think of yourself as of your best friend. Would you say such things to your best friend? Don’t say them to yourself either. Don’t be your own worst critic.
2) Fear of making grammar mistakes
Not only grammar mistakes, but actually all mistakes. We all make them: we humans. Stop being a perfectionist! I’ll say it again: be good to yourself and allow yourself to mistake. Perfectionism is destructive. It can harm your self-esteem. See how it’s connected? Listen to this: if you want to progress you need to accept errors. One more thing: the fact that you fail doesn’t mean you are a failure. Grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, mispronouncing words happens. It happens to all learners, all teachers and all native speakers!
It’s ok to error. Take this micro lesson away and keep it in you heart! You can’t learn a thing without making mistakes. Learning is making mistakes and then adjusting your methods till you stop making them. Give yourself a chance to develop.
3) Embarrassment of the accent or pronunciation
Oh! This can really stop you from saying a word! You don’t know how to pronounce words. This can be tackled easily. Let me tell you, I wouldn’t put this problem on a par with others I mention here. I’d say it’s easy one. I’m not saying this because It’s always been easy for me, oh my! It was never easy! It was soooooo hard to utter a thing! Even simple words or phrases! I would avoid speaking endlessly, I would lose opportunities, decide not to make this phone call just for the fear of not being understood. It all ended when I actually started learning and eventually fell in love with this topic. If you know exactly how the word is pronounced, you are confident and not afraid of saying it out loud. There are differences between American and British pronunciation but you do not have to be bothered by that. Just choose one pattern and stick to it. Go to google and check the pronunciation of any word you want. This day and age you can hear the word well pronounced and memorise it.
4) Fear that others will judge you
Do you know this feeling when you have to speak to someone in English and you are ok with that part, but then you realise there are other Polish around you and they know English much better for sure, and you lose all your confidence on the spot? Well, this is one example of the fear of judgement. You think you are worse than others in your office, in your group, in your team, in your family, among your friends, your class and so forth so you see, it’s obviously connected with no 1 ‘Lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem’. Ok, let me remind you again: everybody makes mistakes. Nobody cares about your skills, people tend to think about their lives, you know, their problems, their shortcomings et cetera. You are not the center of everybody’s universe. Keeping this in mind, think about yourself. What’s your reaction when you hear a foreigner trying to speak Polish? Do you judge? Do you focus on mistakes? Do you think about his poor vocabulary and terrible grammar? I don’t think so. I think you feel warm. Because this person makes an effort, tries to communicate in your own mother language and you are supportive. You help to make the message come across. So! Instead of judging people yourself, look at them from different perspective. Think that they’re nice, helpful and understanding.
5) Lack of practice
How do I get an opportunity to speak?!?! We don’t speak when we’re at school, we don’t speak when we’re at universities, we live in the world of globalization so it’s completely possible to travel abroad without speaking any language whatsoever. Think about this. You go to the airport, go through security, then you show your boarding pass, on the board of an aircraft you don’t need anything (because of your language barrier you suddenly stop being a coffee person). At your destination, you check-in at the hotel, show your ID, give your name (Polish luckily). Then you hit the city, you do some shopping in a big store, where you don’t talk to shop assistant, at the restaurant you point with your finger on the menu and that’s it. Your perfect holiday abroad and no stress included. Oh, you can even go to a travel office, book an all-inclusive offer and you’re done. You have a Polish holiday rep at the hotel and you’re safe. But are you? You do not experience a thing if you miss on that communication with local people part.
The tip I can give you at this point is: take baby steps. Start talking to yourself. Out loud. No shame. Nobody judges.
So, here you have it, ale the 5 most common causes of language barriers and my small tips on how to get rid of them, or some baby steps which you can take in order to tackle these problems in the end.
Make the first step and practice with me. Try to repeat all the sentences I’ll say now:
- Low self-esteem is a real struggle but your quality of life depends on you getting rid of it! ….
- Learning is making mistakes and then adjusting your methods till you stop making them. …
- It all ended when I actually started learning and eventually fell in love with this topic. …
- You help to make the message come across. …
- You do not experience a thing if you miss on that communication with local people part. …
Just a quick summary: the 5 main reasons of your language barrier might be:
- Lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem.
- Fear of making grammar mistakes.
- Embarrassment of the accent or pronunciation.
- Fear that others will judge you.
- Lack of practice.
Now,
Do you recognize any of the causes of the language barrier I’ve mentioned today? Which one has been your struggle? Maybe it’s not anymore? Or maybe you have a different issue, please share, let me know it and I’ll do my best to help!
Go to teacherola.com/1 and leave a comment there.
There you’ll also find a full transcript as well as worksheets.
If you know someone who might benefit from my podcast spread the word and let them know about me!
Next episode is all about small talk. Hot to start it, how to lead it, how to finish it and make it a pleasurable conversation. Subscribe and do not miss it!
Have a great week, till next Wednesday, happy learning, bye!