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Many English learners worry about making mistakes when they speak. But what if mistakes are actually a good thing? Here’s a story from my choir that shows why getting things wrong can help you learn better. (And there's some useful vocabulary at the end of the post.) Learning English is like singing in a choir Some of my students know that I sing in a choir. (A choir is a group of people who sing together, either in religious services or concerts.) In some ways, learning to sing in a choir is like learning a new language. You practise, you make mistakes, and you improve over time. Making mistakes is an important part of the learning process. My choir does three concerts a year, and we have rehearsals every Monday evening for several weeks before each concert. In rehearsals, our musical director often tells us he wants us to keep singing even if we sing the wrong notes. He says that if we make a mistake, that’s good – because then he can fix it. But if we stop singing when we’re unsure of the notes, there’s nothing for him to fix, and he can’t help us so easily. Why mistakes help you improve It’s similar when you’re speaking English. If you make a mistake, maybe somebody can help you fix it – a teacher, a trusted friend, or even you yourself once you notice the pattern. But if you don’t speak because you’re afraid of making a mistake, nobody can help you, and you miss the opportunity to learn and improve. What’s the worst that can happen? Another thing our musical director says is, “What’s the worst thing that can happen if you make a mistake? You’re not going to make the ceiling come crashing down.” We sing inside a beautiful cathedral that has stood strong for 900 years! What about when you’re speaking English? If you go wrong, what’s going to happen? Nothing terrible! You’re not going to make the building come crashing down. I know some people will be thinking, “The worst thing that can happen is somebody will laugh at me.” Let me tell you, we laugh a lot in our choir rehearsals. When it goes wrong, it can sometimes be funny! We laugh at ourselves, and the musical director laughs too. But it’s always friendly laughter, never unkind. Learn to laugh at your mistakes Sometimes a student says something funny in a lesson. For example, “kitchen” is a difficult word for some people, and it often comes out as “chicken”! That’s funny! I never laugh at my students, but sometimes we laugh together. If we can learn to laugh at ourselves, mistakes become a lot less scary. And yes, there are some unkind people out there who might laugh at you. But that’s their problem, not yours. Don’t let it upset you or stop you from speaking. Final Thoughts If you’ve ever stopped yourself from saying something in English because you were afraid of making a mistake, remember:
Vocabulary choir = a group of people who sing together, either in religious services or public performances. rehearsal = a time to learn and practice ceiling = the surface at the top of a room which you see when you look straight up cathedral = a large church which is the most important church in the area If you’d like more confidence tips and English communication strategies, join my free email mini-course Your 5 Steps to Confident English Communication:  Comments are closed.
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