6 Minute English / Scared of speaking English?

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Pippa.

And I'm Beth. Have you ever been scared of speaking in English? In this episode, we're talking about why speaking in a foreign language can be so stressful. So, Pippa, do you ever get nervous speaking in a different language?

Yes, I learnt French when I was younger and I was actually quite good at it, I think, but I was really nervous when I was speaking French. How about you?

Yeah, I've always felt like that with Spanish. I am scared to speak because I don't want to make mistakes, even though I know it's OK to make mistakes.

Well, in this episode of 6 Minute English, we'll be hearing about how to feel less nervous when you speak English. And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new words and phrases. You can practise these with the quiz and worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

But first I have a question for you, Pippa. So, English has around one million words, but on average, how many words does a typical English speaker use in daily conversation? Is it a) between 2000 and 3000? b) between 20000 and 30000. Or c) between 200000 and 300000.

I'm going to say a) 2000 to 3000.

OK. Well we will find out later in the programme. Now, Pippa, you said you found it stressful speaking in French, even though you are quite good at it. Now, someone else who has had this experience is Hanan Razek. Hanan is a journalist at BBC Arabic and also host of the podcast Beating Speaking Anxiety. Here she is telling BBC Learning English presenter Georgie about speaking English.

My English was actually pretty good but having conversations with people, I found it really difficult. So when I first joined the BBC, the Learning English team made an assessment of my English level, which they used to do for all new joiners to see if they need any help or courses. My results were pretty good and I was fluent. But on that very same day, leaving the building and going to get some coffee, I couldn't really understand what the barista was saying, and I felt pretty nervous to order coffee and was trying to stress every single word, hoping that my grammar is correct and I am pronouncing the words right.