How to learn English if you are shy

Are you shy? Do you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed when speaking English? Are you envious when your classmates, coworkers, or friends seem so comfortable speaking English to each other or in front of groups? In this video, I will give you advice to overcome your shyness. If you are shy, don't be discouraged, because you can learn English just as well as talkative, social people, but you need to use different strategies. Today, I will share my tips and tricks with you to help you break out of your shell!

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TRANSCRIPT

Hi there. My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to help you become a better speaker, especially if you are shy. Okay? So, a lot of people when they learn new languages, they're very embarrassed and they're too shy to speak. This video will help you with good tips and strategies on how to become more confident in your speaking. So let's get started.

Okay, so the first thing I like to tell shy people, so people who are afraid to speak, is: You need to find your strengths. You need to ask yourself: "What am I good at?" Because a lot of the times, shy people, they think: "Oh my goodness, I'm not good at speaking, I'm terrible at English, I'll never learn this language", and they feel really sad. But that's not usually true. Usually shy people are good at many different things, they just don't realize it. So remember: English is not only speaking. Speaking is part of it, but there are other skills, too. Maybe you're a great listener. Okay? Maybe you're good at grammar. Maybe you're not good at all grammar, but you're amazing at the present perfect or the simple past. You know, maybe you're good at reading or writing. So it's good to recognize what you're good at so you don't feel so sad when you're learning English, because you might be good at a lot of different things. So, you can always write down on a piece of paper: "I am able to", you know, listen very well, or: "I am able to do well on my grammar test." Okay? So think about: What are your strengths?

My next tip is probably one of the most important tips. When you're trying to learn a language, especially when you're shy, it's good to make goals and to write them down. Okay? So what do I mean by goals? Well, for example, I have three goals here and I'm going to talk about each of them. Somebody's goal might be: "I will be a better speaker." Or they might say: "I will say two things in class today." Or: "I will ask two people: 'How is your day going?'" So these are all goals, but these goals are not all great goals. What do I mean by that? Well, this first goal: "I will be a better speaker", you will not know if you've become a better speaker or not. This goal, it's too big so I would not use this goal. Okay?

When you make a goal it's good to make something where you have a number in it, and you can tell very easily: Did you do it or didn't you do it? So, for example: "I will say two things in class today", this is a great goal because you know: "Okay, I said two things in class, I met my goal for the day." This will really help you with speaking, especially if you're shy. Maybe you're too shy even to say two things in class, so maybe you can say one thing in class or maybe for the first class you can just listen and try for the next class to say one thing. Okay? Another example of a great goal is: "I will ask two", and again, this can be any number. "I will ask two people: 'How is your day going today?'" So just by making goals, it can really encourage you to speak and practice your English, and you will improve this way because it is important to speak as much as you can. This way, you know, it's not too difficult, it's something you can do. The other key point here is: Write down your goals. I think it's great to have a journal or a diary where you write down your daily goal, and then at the end of the week you can check it off and see: Did I meet this goal? Hopefully you did, and that way you can actually monitor your English progress. So now let's look at some more tips.

Okay, so my next tip is very important, too: Don't compare yourself to extroverts. So, what is an extrovert? It's the opposite of a shy person. So, an extrovert is somebody who everybody pays attention to because they love to talk, they're great in social situations, they're usually with friends or out with people. So, an extrovert is somebody who's not really shy. So, what a lot of shy people do is they compare themselves. They see the extrovert, and they think: "Wow, I wish I was just like that person. That person's speaking is so good. Why can't I speak like that?" It's very common to compare yourself, but it's not a good idea, because number one, it's possible that person is making a lot of mistakes.