Language Learning Anxiety

I've felt anxious speaking in an L2 in front of others many of times. Whenever I spoke Spanish with my grandparents, I felt comfortable because I knew they weren't judging me albeit they rarely corrected my mistakes. However, with other family members including cousins, uncles and aunts, and even distant relatives, I would try to speak Spanish at first, but always found myself going back into my shell simply relying with a simple smile, laugh or "Si". If that wasn't good enough, I would force out, "Yo entiendo Espanol, pero hablando lo no es facil" (which I know sounds awful, but it's what I work with). Option two involved turning to my parents. They'd say, in Spanish, "He understands you, but he never learned how to speak Spanish properly."

Just recently, I picked up some SparkNotes Spanish guides to start practicing on the side. When I tried to use one of the new verbs I learned with my father, he reiterated what I said in his robotic gringo accent. And when I stated I wanted to practice with him, he did the same thing but ended with a chuckle. After talking to him more sincerely, I think he's started to come around...

In relation to the classroom, I never really felt anxious speaking Spanish or Japanese. When it came to Spanish, I was actually one of the better students but for some reason, it never stuck with me for too long. On the other hand, the last time I spoke Japanese was about 2 years ago and I've been able to retain a decent amount, but I've noticed it's become harder to conjure up certain words.

In order to diminish language anxiety in the classroom, I think teachers should explain it's okay to make mistakes and that we all make mistakes. It would be interesting to hear an anecdote or two of the teacher's own mishaps in learning another language. Of course, there will be students who grasp syntax faster or are able to speak with better pronunciation, but as long as the students feel that they are learning together, holistically as a group of individuals, a positive atmosphere of learning can take shape.

By making the classroom a place where the students, especially older students, have no fear of being judged; by explaining knowledge in a second language does not reflect one's intelligence; and by asking and sharing why these students want to learn (setting common ground, understanding and mutual repspect), the path to diminishing language learning anxiety will grow.