ZT: Speak English with Calm, Confidence, and Creativity

Speak English with Calm, Confidence, and Creativity - 来源: 画蛇 于 08-07-20

Speak English with Calm, Confidence, and Creativity

Which is more difficult for a native Chinese learning English: listening and comprehension, speaking, or writing? (Presumably, everyone here on this forum is an expert on English reading and comprehension.)

Different people have different learning experiences to relate, I am sure. Most probably would argue, however, that writing in a foreign language presents the greatest challenge. Relative to speaking, I personally find listening and comprehension less intimidating, which is likely how many others feel.

Why do so many of us find speaking the next most challenging – after writing – aspect of learning English?

One overwhelming reason, I think, has to do with the fact that when we open our mouths and speak, we are fully exposed, defenseless. Indeed, laid wide in the open is every possible flaw with our speech, from accent to intonation, from grammar to word choice, from delivery to composure, and we cannot feel more naked, rendering us helpless victims of “stage fright” attacks.

Normally, “stage fright” afflicts performers, e.g., singers, actors and actresses. To a lesser extent, it also strikes public speakers. For those of us who are still less than comfortable speaking in a foreign language in formal settings (business meetings or presentations), the nerve-wrecking fear that we are going to utterly embarrass ourselves can be all too real, and can freeze us up on the spot.

The key to avoid feeling so naked when we speak in a foreign language is three-fold: Be calm, be confident, and be creative.

When it comes to speaking in a foreign languages, there are things that are within our control and then, there are things that are not quite so. Accent, for example, is not something we can easily eliminate. Intonation, for another, often takes much practice to get to be close to how native speakers do it. It is about the things that are not quite under our control that we need to be calm about. I have an accent, but so do Dr. Henry Kissinger and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In fact, either of theirs is more pronounced than mine. What is the big deal, really? And don’t let worries about our imperfect intonation hold us back from speaking up with calm, either.

(Just how to make sure that you always speak in a calmly manner? These tips may be helpful: take a deep breath; count to 3 before you say a word; step back to collect your thoughts if you are agitated, unduly excited, or disturbed when you are about to speak – there will always be another, more opportune time for you to say what you need to say.)

If calm more or less comes from mental preparation, confidence is something we build over time, and it takes some hard work. Naturally, when we are constantly worrying if or not the next sentence coming out of our mouths is going to be grammar-free or word choice-perfect, our body language tends to show that we are not our otherwise confident selves. But whatever level in English proficiency we are at, we can project a measure of confidence that is neither overreaching nor self-constricting. When our outward confidence is not overreaching, we are more readily accepted as equal partners in a conversation, and any flaws our speech may have are likely to be glossed over rather than scrutinized and picked on. And when we don’t self-constrict our abilities to speak by short-changing ourselves in confidence, we have a much better chance to shine when our words start rolling off our lips.

(An example of show of confidence: Right after one speaks with the third-person singular “s” dropped, he catches himself and says: “I did it again! I am still having trouble with the third-person singular ‘s.’ One of these days I am going to get it right!”)

What does creativity have to do with our abilities to speak English as a foreign language? Don’t many of us invent all kinds of awkward Chinglish phrases already thanks to our flourishing creativity? Well, that is not the kind of creativity I have in mind. By being creative in our daily communications, I mean we think both before and after we speak, and whenever necessary or appropriate, inject some thoughtfulness into our utterings and remarks. Needless to say, most of our routine conversations among colleagues are mundane and unremarkable; if somehow we from time to time drop a line that just has something sparkling (due to thought or wit) in it, our colleagues will be duly favorably impressed.

(When next time an opportunity presents itself for you to say something witty to impress your colleagues, try something like “We Chinese have a saying,” and then use an appropriate proverb. Never mind that your translation may be somewhat off; when you lead off with “we Chinese have a saying,” it is almost expected that the ensuing translation will be tilted.)

We may think ourselves progressing along the calm-confidence-creativity spectrum as we learn to master our English-speaking skills. With calm, we get ourselves off to a good start; with confidence, we present the best of ourselves wherever we are in English proficiency; and with creativity, we are on our way to shine.