Here is a question from the AJE (Ask John English) Forum from Dilly:

I’m not sure if this has been asked before, but do you have any tips on overcoming the fear of speaking English?

Sometimes it’s hard for me to speak naturally and effortlessly. My mind goes blank and I stutter. I tend to worry about being laughed at for making mistakes – even though I guess nobody is perfect and mistakes are a part of learning.

Maybe I’m being too hard on myself, but I feel my English is not good enough.

Is there anything I could do to stop being so self-conscious when I speak?

He then describes how he feels:

I’ve seen people being looked down on and made fun of for not speaking correct English, so I fear the same might happen to me.

I don’t worry about making mistakes around my friends because I know they wouldn’t judge me based on how well I speak. But I get uncomfortable and tongue tied with strangers or people who are too critical.

Also, I’m a perfectionist, so I’m probably my worst critic. If I go wrong, I can’t help beating myself up over it. It happens in my own language too but more so in English since I’m less fluent in it.

Here is my answer to his question:

Hi Dilly

This is a great question! Something almost everyone experiences at some time.

I have written some new free lessons that looks at exactly this topic. Make sure you sign up to get them here: http://free.askjohnenglish.com/

I understand your fear. Actually, I sometimes feel very shy – I think everyone does, especially when they are meeting new people or they are somewhere they don’t know anyone, for example at a party where you know nobody.

I think one good way to help with this is to have some strategies to help you.

For example, one strategy I use is to ask questions when I meet new people. Of course I do this in a friendly way – don’t be like a policeman asking many many questions on one topic!

What I try to do is ask questions about different topics, until I find a topic I can talk with the person about easily.

The good thing about this strategy, is you can prepare your questions in advance! Then you should feel more comfortable, because you will know what you are going to say.

Darklight also had some good advice for Dilly.

ACTIVITY:

1. Share your experince in the comments.

   What do you do when you feel shy or afraid to speak?

   Have you tried something like I suggested before?Let’s give Dilly some great tips!

2. See Dilly’s post here. Make sure you join the AJE forum so that you can ask questions too, and also help people with their questions.

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The post Fear of Speaking English appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

How about ‘wanna’?

Blending Sounds When Speaking

1 . gonna = going to

2. wanna = want to

This is how many people speak!

When people speak English they usually blend the sounds of the words together.

Example:

We usually DON’T say: What are you going to do tomorrow?  What-are-you-going-to-do-tomorrow

We WILL say: whatchya gonna do tomora?  Whachagonnadotomorra

Tip: People often speak like this, but they don’t usually write like this (sometimes they do write this on Facebook or in other media like text messages on their phones)

ACTIVITY:

Can you think of any other common blended words like ‘gonna’ or ‘wanna’?

Put your answer in the comments!
John

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The post Pronunciation – Blending sounds appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

1. The company had to lay off ………. 500 employees.Fill in the blank with: ’an addition of’ OR ‘an additional’
2. ………….. difficult things may be, she still tried to learn.Fill in the blank with: ‘however’ OR ‘though’

I am always happy to help people with their questions, but I do like them to try themselves first! It is better to try and get it wrong, then to just have someone tell you the answer. This way you will learn more!

You can see his full question here: http://www.askjohnenglish.com/learn/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=607

ACTIVITY:

Let’s all help my friend!

1. What do you think are the correct answers to the two questions? (even if you don’t know why, try!)
2. Can you explain why?

Put your answers in the comments!

I will check your answers and tell you the final answer in a couple of days!

GO ON  – TRY IT!

See the correct answer and why it is correct here: http://www.askjohnenglish.com/learn/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=607#p3293

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The post An addition or an additional; however or though appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

Do you notice God smiling at us!

ACTIVITY:

What things around you, remind you of how good life is?

Share your answer in the comments!

I look forward to reading your comments!

Your friend

John

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The post A smile in the sky? appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

Sorry there haven’t been any new lessons lately. actually I am working on some great new lessons and also some videos.

The problem is that the forum on this site is a little broken at the moment. You can still use it to reply to old messages, but it won’t let you make new discussions. I am working very hard to fix this as quickly as possible.

Hopefully it will be fixed very soon!

I will let you know when it is.

Your hard-working friend

John

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The post Forum Problems appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

I hope 2011 was an exciting and peaceful year for you! As we begin to move into 2012, I want to share some of the 2011 highlights on Ask John English…

Ask John English Super Stars of 2011

I want to thank all of you who read and commented on Ask John English, also thank you those who sent me messages and liked my new Facebook page!

People visited Ask John English from all over the world. The top three continents were North America, Australia and Europe:

The top 5 commenters on this site for 2011 were:

• Mutsuko
• Zainub
• Mansureh
• Ali
• Robert

The most popular lessons in 2011 were:

• How to refuse a job offer
• How to write a letter to reject a job application.
• How to answer: Do you mind if I sit down?
• LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION – FUNNY!
• Thank you for asking your question!

If you missed any of these lessons, make sure you take a look at them!

A lot happened in 2011, but now I am really excited about what is coming in 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Some of the exciting things I have ready for you in 2012 are:

• A great series of free videos on IELTS that will help you do your best in the test!
• A new ‘How to learn English’ free course – I have already written the lessons and am very excitied to give them to you soon!
• I also have some great plans for the forum and chatroom so that we can all learn English and have fun!

Thank you ALL for your support in 2011! I look forward to talking with you more in 2012!

QUESTION:

What do you want to learn most in 2012?

The post 2011 Highlights and Super Stars on Ask John English appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

ACTIVITY:

Use “quirky” in a sentence.

1. Put your sentence in the comments.
2. Read sentences written by others.

John will read all sentences and give you feedback!

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The post What does “quirky” mean? appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

ACTIVITY:

Use “bend over backwards” in a sentence.

1. Put your sentence in the comments.
2. Read sentences written by others.

John will read all sentences and give you feedback!

This lesson is brought to you by the One Word A Day plugin.

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The post What does “bend over backwards” mean? appeared first on ASK JOHN ENGLISH.

ACTIVITY:

Use “punchline” in a sentence.

1. Put your sentence in the comments.
2. Read sentences written by others.

John will read all sentences and give you feedback!

This lesson is brought to you by the One Word A Day plugin.

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ACTIVITY:

Use “vie” in a sentence.

1. Put your sentence in the comments.
2. Read sentences written by others.

John will read all sentences and give you feedback!

This lesson is brought to you by the One Word A Day plugin.

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