Anxiety about speaking abroad? Here's how to overcome it

05 September 2025 Research news item

For many people learning a new language, the most difficult step is putting what they have learned into practice and actually starting to speak. Language teachers Janine Berns and Frank van Meurs explain where this anxiety comes from and what can be done about it. 'You really don't have to talk about nuclear energy right away.’

It was actually a very inconspicuous moment: President Emanuel Macron insisting on a a truce, during a meeting about the war in Ukraine. Yet for Janine Berns, language researcher and French teacher at Radboud University, it was significant. And not because of what he said, but because of the way he said it. ‘With Macron's French accent, you could understand truth instead of truce, but partly because of the context, it was clear what Macron meant. Everyone brings their own baggage with them when they speak a language other than their mother tongue, and in many cases people still understand you.’ Macron anticipated any confusion and immediately clarified that he meant a ceasefire.

‘You see the same thing with Mark Rutte,’ says Frank van Meurs, language researcher and English teacher. ‘In the Netherlands, we mock Rutte's English speeches because of his Dutch accent. Abroad, they are much less critical. He has a large vocabulary in English and people understand what he is saying.’

It just goes to show that you don't have to be fluent in a language to make yourself understood, even as president. Berns: “You might notice this when you're on holiday. Sometimes you can understand each other with just a few words. What's more, people appreciate it when you try to speak their language.”

Still, it can be difficult to keep that in mind when you're thrown in at the deep end. That's when “linguistic insecurity” can set in. It's a familiar phenomenon that Berns and Van Meurs recognise in their French and English students, but it occurs in every language. ‘Students can be shocked when they go on their first exchange,’ says Berns. ‘Suddenly, everything goes much faster than in the lecture hall, but that's also a matter of getting used to it.’

French now is like English then

In that respect, English language learners have an advantage. That language has become a lingua franca, the language people use to communicate when they don't speak the same mother tongue. Van Meurs: ‘In games, music, series: from an early age, children hear much more English, outside the classroom as well. That way, you pick up the language much faster than with just a few hours of lessons per week.’

Today, English is everywhere, but when Van Meurs was a student in the 1980s, things were very different. ‘Studying English back then was like studying French today. Far fewer people spoke English, there were hardly any non-Dutch students, and there were only a few television and radio channels, which mainly broadcast Dutch programmes.’

Louis van Gaal

When you learn a language that is rarely used in your environment, it is logical that you feel less comfortable, especially when speaking the language. Berns explains: ‘When you start learning a new language, it can seem like you have to climb a huge mountain. That's why it's important to keep in mind why you want to learn a language. Do you want to speak the language for work, or do you want to be able to get by in short conversations on holiday?’

Berns emphasises once again that making mistakes is part of learning a language. ‘Everyone does it, even language teachers make mistakes sometimes.’ In fact, perfectionism can really get in the way when learning a new language. ‘It's precisely by speaking and making mistakes that you pick things up more quickly. Keep that in mind and also remember: you don't have to talk about nuclear energy right away.’ Van Meurs adds: ‘Actually, we can take a leaf out of the book of football coaches like Louis van Gaal, who simply start speaking the language, even though they don't speak it perfectly.’

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Foto: Nico Knaack via Unsplash

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Theme: International, Media & Communication, Language