The Horror of... Learning to Speak

Why is learning to Speak so horrifying? Because, it means you have to try to speak when you don't know what you're saying. In other words: to really learn a language you need to try to speak and write in that language on a daily basis. But, to start with, you're not going to know the grammar or the vocabulary. So, in order to get your meaning across, you have to put yourself out on a limb and try to express yourself even though you may sound like an idiot. You're used to your native language. You're used to always being able to come up with the right word for something. You're used to expressing a single sentence in a matter of a few seconds or less. It can be very intimidating to make yourself speak in a language that you are not familiar with and it's easy to be self conscious about it. But it's a necessary part of the learning process and you won't get better without practice. The good news is, if you're in a class, everyone else is in the same boat, and even the instructor has been in your situation way back when. The truth is, when it comes down to it, it's really not that horrifying as long as you can get over yourself and just give it your best shot.