Do you feel dumb trying to talk in a foreign language?

Question

I am learning spanish and I feel like if I speak it to a native speaker, I will sound like a dumb ***. Is that normal? Or am I just trying too hard?

Answer 1

I do feel dumb. Haha, my first language is Spanish, but I speak english very well, so I don't feel uncomfortable speaking it, German however is completely different and everytime I'm around a native speaker I freak out. You've got to learn to control yourself, and forget about it. Think that they to have felt the same insecurity when speaking your language, and remember that you will not get any better if you don't practice, the best way to learn a language is speaking it.
I would listen to you speak spanish and I wouldn't laugh, would you laugh if I was just learning to speak english?

Answer 2

With Spanish I have found that 95% of all native speakers are absolutely astounded and flattered when a foreigner, especially an English-speaking one, tries to speak even a little bit of Spanish. They will also be very encouraging and help you a lot.
The other 5% who have no patience with a non-Spanish speaker don't even deserve a mention here.

Answer 3

Don't feel dumb. They appreciate the effort that you are making to communicate in their language. You don't think they are dumb when they try to speak English do you? The only way to learn is to practice, especially with native speakers. Keep working at it! Your efforts will pay off.

Answer 4

No I don't - although I do speak French, German and Italian. I had to speak Russian I had literally just learned when I was there. I got my beer and managed to pay and got a smile from the barlady.
She could not speak English and so I had to speak Russian or go thirsty!
All people except perhaps English speaking people really do think it is good that you have tried, although of course if they speak English they usually want to practise on you !
So never worry about it - you make the effort and that is what counts

Answer 5

nope- english is a foreign language to me and I try to speak as much as much as possible so I will improve. I guess I felt a little dumb when I originally started but I've gotten used to the language now and when I speak, it is with confidence.

Answer 6

It is very common , I took German in 12th grade ( which was last year ) and I pick it up from my parents because it's my mom's native langauge and my dad picked it up in the army . But I told my mom that when she's on the phone talking to her German friends, I understand her very well.So, I joke around with her and say ; You better not be talking about me in a bad way.
My Grandparents visited in January of this year and I spoke a little German but not much because I was afraid that my sentance structure would be off . German grammer is a pain in the butt for me.
When I went to Germany in 2004 , i picked up a little German . My niece speaks very little english , they learn Oxford English in school but I saw her report card and she wasn't doing so well. My dad told me she was probably afraid too.

Answer 7

I had the same problem until I thought of it this way: If you are speaking another language, and the other person can not speak yours, then there is really nothing to feel stupid about.

And if the person you are speaking with is fluent in both languages and is still an intellectual-prick, then forget about them.

Answer 8

thats 100% normal. I'm learning German and sometimes I feel funny but to many people it sounds just plain *cute*! Alot of people think it's really cool to know 2 languages! Good luck!

Answer 9

from experience of living in US and using English every single day....YES!!! for a few weeks...then you just speak and don't think about this
usually people are very tolerant and patient with second language speakers and I think sort of proud that you learned their language

Answer 10

Very normal. I also get anxiety when I don't know a word, I'll be talking along and become frustrated trying to find different ways to phrase what I'm saying to get around that one word I don't know...