2026-03-10 How to be yourself in English – Beating Speaking Anxiety
The fear of not being able to express your personality Have you ever felt like you can’t show your true…
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Beating Speaking Anxiety is a special podcast and video series exploring the fears that come with speaking a foreign language.
Hosts Georgie, presenter at BBC Learning English, and Hanan, a journalist for BBC Arabic, speak to experts to understand why speaking makes us so anxious, learn about what happens to our brain when we learn a new language, and explore some tips to help make speaking English less stressful. They cover topics like the fear of making mistakes, the fear of not understanding people, and the frustration that comes with not being able to express your personality in English.
So, come and practise your listening skills and learn some tips for boosting your speaking confidence.
Find more programmes to practise your skills.
The fear of not being able to express your personality Have you ever felt like you can’t show your true…
“I am an introvert, and I tend to be very self-conscious about what I speak and how I speak. The…
The fear of not getting better Often when we start learning a language, progress is fast and noticeable because you…
“These days I feel less confident about my English. I can see my bad points.” – Shin, Japan Introduction Sometimes…
The fear of not getting the joke Being in a conversation when everyone starts laughing and you don’t know why…
“Instead of being able to joke or say what I really think, I get stuck trying to find the right…
The fear of not being understood It’s easy to lose speaking confidence after having experiences where people don’t understand you.…
“When I start to realise that people don’t understand me, I lost my confidence after it.” – Anna, Ukraine “When…
The fear of speaking in front of others The fear of public speaking is common even in a person’s first…
“My arms and legs start trembling. My, my heart pounds as if trying to escape my chest. It’s a full…
The fear of not understanding someone The fear of speaking a foreign language is often talked about, but what about…
“I’m scared, scared when I don’t understand the other people.” – Paola “It’s really hard to understand British accent. Like…
The fear of forgetting words Forgetting words mid conversation is a very common experience and can lead to panic, frustration,…
“I know what I want to say, but no words come to mind. It’s like my mind just shuts down.”…
The fear of making mistakes The fear of making mistakes can come from the fear of judgement. Often we’re worried…
“I felt really insecure sometimes because I was like, oh, am I saying the right things?” – Deivid “I put…