Scared to Speak Your Target Language? - How to Talk to Native Speakers

Are you scared to speak your target language when you meet a native speaker? You can learn how not to be scared to speak to native speakers of your target language by following the advice in this video.
Lots of people tell me they are afraid to speak a foreign language, which means they never get to practice with a native a speaker, but this video will explain how you can follow these steps to not be afraid to speak target language when the time comes.
In this video, I explain how I went from a person who was afraid to speak German even though I had been learning for a few years to being someone not at all afraid to speak French even when the waitress I was speaking to wasn't French! Maybe you are afraid to speak Spanish or you're in Brazil and you're afraid to speak Portuguese. Maybe there is a bit Russian population in your city, but it's not good because you are afraid to speak Russian with them. If any of these language learning scenarios sound scary to you, then stay with this video and you'll learn how to practice languages with native speakers.
I'm Lamont from the Reykjavik Review, where even though I don't speak Icelandic, I do speak Swedish, French, and a little bit of some other languages; all of which are languages I have learned by practicing language through conversation. As I go through this process myself, I want to help you with everything I've learned about foreign languages, learning languages and particularly how to practice with native speakers and how to have a good accent when you speak a foreign language.
So stick around, watch some other videos and subscribe to see heaps more content about language learning and foreign languages.

Language learning videos, tips and techniques!

[daysandwords]

Hey guys! Please leave EITHER:
1. Your script that you use to speak to native speakers (you can write it in English or the language you're learning)
2. Your tips for how to not freak out when you meet native speakers of your target language.

Merci ! Tack! Vielen dank!

[MelissaJetzt]

"What am I supposed to do, assume there are other countries in EUROPE?"

[boyohazard]

I once bumped into a native Polish speaker and in my excitement/nervousness blurted out "My name is hello". I am definitely going to write out a script so I don't repeat that mistake! Thank you for the excellent content!

[My-Channel_forever]

I like your “2 year old” analogy. I once knew a toddler for whom English was a second language. When asked what she wanted for breakfast, she repeated, with increasing urgency, “Pig sticks. Pig sticks! stiiiicks!!!” Finally, we said, “Oh, bacon! 🥓”

She very creative;y communicated what she wanted and then learned the correct word, just as you said in your video!

[MisterBudBrown]

How many times have I spoke to a Filipino in Tagalog here (Philippines) and they always answer in English. I finally say (in Tagalog) I see you're not used to speaking to a foreigner in Tagalog! We both laugh and then they start answering in Tagalog. Thanks for sharing this vid.

[bigwill]

One day a guy from Argentina started speaking to me (in English) After a few mins I said to him “hablas inglés muy bien” (you speak English very well) which allowed me to speak in Spanish with him a little bit.

I bumped into him a few months later and I was able to speak quite a bit more Spanish with him than before so that was encouraging!

[jahipalmer]

That's how I made my first language partner. She was talking to some dude in english, struggling for words with an amazing Guatemalan accent. I slid up and (in garbage spanish) said "Usted habla Espanol?" She visibly relaxed and turned to me and said more spanish than I could possibly understand, but I got enough of it to help her through what she was trying to tell the dude then continue talking to her afterward. It was years in the making but getting to do that was super awesome.

[alwaysuseless]

I'm not afraid to speak in my target language German, but if you're afraid to speak in your target language, you could still prepare something similar to what I start with when I hear someone speaking German or English with a German accent: "Excuse me. Are you from Germany?" [Entschuldigen Sie mich. Sind Sie aus Deutschland?] And no matter what they say, you can probably follow up by asking them in your target language "Ah, where exactly? What city?" [Ah, wo genau, welche Stadt?] In my case, if they say they're Swiss, I may ask "But you can speak both Swiss German and so-called High German?" [Aber Sie sprechen sowohl Schweizerdeutsch als auch sogenanntes Hochdeutsch?] (And similarly, if they're from Austria.) This is meant to encourage them to speak High German with me, which by then, they've noticed is what I'm speaking. (I find other dialects hard to understand.)

I live in a small town in the U.S. that sees a disproportionate number of foreign tourists. Still, hardly anyone here speaks German. Everyone I've had this exchange with has been very pleasantly surprised that some American in line or at the next table can actually speak German with some degree of fluency and is eager to do so.

Next time I hit it off with a German-speaker, after there's a vaccine for Covid-19, I should offer to show them around.

Even if you find this scary, it's also fun and exciting! And no one is going to be offended that you're trying to speak in their native language. It's inherently a compliment.

[kimjiwon]

I am a korean who is learning english, and when I went to Australia two years ago, I saw a guy taking picture of a Japanese street musician who was playing strange music. I talked to that person about the musician, and that was my first conversation with the actual english speaker. I think it went quite well, except me saying one or two embarrassing words. One year later i had a chance to go to Australia again, but then i couldn’t have a conversation with anyone because i had been having this strange idea that i need an some thing extra-ordinary happening right in front of me to have a conversation with a stranger next to me. But now I understand that it could be fine to ask a stranger some random question about where the person is from, what kind of job the person has, and etc. I think maybe when i go to english speaking country again i will have conversation with many people, and hopefully, get better in english. Anyway, i think your videos are not just thoughtful, but also very motivating. Thank you.

[Sonya]

The Algorithm told me to watch this, and while I hear how you talk about your early speaking self in your later videos, this advice actually sounds solid ;-) Greetings from the future.

[moorddroomke]

I'm not nervous when speaking to a native speaker of my target language, I'm nervous when speaking to any person I don't know yet

[mordecai]

When I was learning Chinese I would just speak it at anyone I could find until they respected my abilities enough to speak back (even when I sounded like a confused toddler)- now I've never been to a Chinese speaking country and I'm at a high intermediate level/kinda fluent. If English is your first language, people will try to do the same thing to you, and as aggressive as it sounds, don't give them that opportunity.


If you (like me) come from a small town, have no money for travel and resources, have very few native speakers to practice with, and come from a typical American family that only speaks English, you can still learn another language! Just be prepared to work extra hard, talk to yourself often, and most importantly, have fun with it so you don't lose motivation.


(edit for awkward wording)

[paradoxo]

Well, I've got to admit, a lot of things popped into my head whenever I was around native Spanish speakers, but thankfully, "Don't say a word!" was never one of them. On the other hand, self-monitoring thoughts -- "Fix the grammar here! No, this word!" -- are probably at least as bad...


Hmm...
"Quiero practicar español con usted; realmente necesito la práctica, por favor."


I've been practicing by recording myself saying what pops into my head into my phone, just to get used to speaking out loud. I'll have to start talking with people more soon, not just writing to them over the YouTube comment boards.

[kieronhoswell]

Just subscribed and now binge watching. Great content.

[walkwithdeath]

I have been living in Paris for the past 4 years and, despite being a certified C1 speaker, I am STILL scared of speaking to locals! My problem is that when they praise me on my French skills, it adds unwanted pressure so I think that, next time I meet the same person, I have to "perform" at the same level otherwise I am a huge failure. It is all in my head, I agree...maybe I need therapy! Hahaha. It has gotten so bad that I haven't really made any friends these past 4 years since I am very uncomfortable in expressing myself in French. This fear, however, is not entirely unfounded...I once met an Italian girl who told me that her French group of "friends" stopped inviting her for gatherings and social events. When she asked why, they simply explained that her French was bad - she had some problems in understanding what they said, she couldn't keep up, she had a thick accent, they had very little patience in trying to understand what she was saying, etc....bref, Parisians can be mean and cruel sometimes! Of course, this episode and Parisians in general cannot speak for the rest of the country - French people are some of the nicest people I have ever met, especially outside of Paris and large urban areas. Unfortunately, I cannot move to the "province" just yet (I am trying!) - maybe then, I will be able to finally master this wonderful language full of history and culture! Un jour, j'y arriverai!

[VazeulEzren]

A funny trick I picked up from another language learner: If native speakers in your target language keep trying to get you to speak English, just pretend you don't know English. This works better for people who speak multiple languages as you can respond "I don't speak English." or something like that in a different language. Hopefully they will get the point and continue on in the target language. This probably isn't advised with someone you intend to befriend or make a long term connection with, as it may upset them that you lied/misled them. If you're just talking to strangers on the street/in a store/etc then it might be effective though.

[Riurelia]

Last year I accidently asked my study hall teacher whose native language is Spanish for a "son of paper" (hijo de papel) rather than a "sheet of paper" (hoja de papel).

[liquidcancer]

I've always noticed that English people are generally the most judgemental when it comes to second language speakers speaking their language. Whenever I spoke to English natives they've made fun of me. Whenever I spoke to French or German people (whose languages I am way worse at) They've been accepting and supportive. This is just my experience. May be different for other people.

[primsithi-amnuai]

I’m not a native English speaker.
I’ve been listening and binging to your videos that I’m starting to speak like you and your accent and I like it! 😊

[lawea]

I spent quite some time in the US learning English on the flight and learned quite fast if I say so myself, still I always try and find room for improvement (because believe me, there is lol). Some of my friends and random people on campus would address me in Spanish but I always replied in English, I appreciated the effort but I was also trying to get some practice myself. I even think that having a conversation where each part uses their non native language is beneficial for both and not only one part.