I've defaulted to "oui" a few times. I find daring to speak a language to the natives triggers the same skittish twitch as public speaking. I'm presenting my homework to the class. Obviously something only experience would smooth over.
Yes that's exactly how it feels! But yes it does get easier. I mean, the anxiety never goes away, you just decide at some point to be okay with it if (when) the kids laugh at your homework presentation, to follow your metaphor.
My anxiety aside, my experiences of speaking French to French natives have always been very positive --- they are very supportive. Complete opposite to when I first started teaching in English in the US, where the first reaction was very direct "Go back home and learn to speak English before teaching us!"
I've defaulted to "oui" a few times. I find daring to speak a language to the natives triggers the same skittish twitch as public speaking. I'm presenting my homework to the class. Obviously something only experience would smooth over.
ReplyDeleteYes that's exactly how it feels! But yes it does get easier. I mean, the anxiety never goes away, you just decide at some point to be okay with it if (when) the kids laugh at your homework presentation, to follow your metaphor.
DeleteMy anxiety aside, my experiences of speaking French to French natives have always been very positive --- they are very supportive. Complete opposite to when I first started teaching in English in the US, where the first reaction was very direct "Go back home and learn to speak English before teaching us!"
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