We've all been there. You're you're in a café or restaurant field testing your foreign language skills.
Everything is going well until they ask you something you are not expecting and you did not understand a word.
The mask has fallen and suddenly the server is now giving you a very perplexed look and the tension begins to build.
As a language learner, you will likely recognise this kind of situation. For many clients I talk to, these sorts situations can be horrifc.
I have lost count of the amount of times, I have either said yes or nodded my head just to try and keep the illusion of fluency going.
Many language learners feel dissapointed, annoyed at themselves and demotivated after such occasions.
This can happen many years even decades after you started learning a language, and you may wonder what is the point of all this?
After 20 years or so of language learning, one tip I can give is that these moments are useful reality checks. Yes, it's a gap in your understanding and that's ok, afterall it's not your native language.
That being said, language learning is a long haul journey. Through the help of hypnosis, I can help you overcome the mental blocks, the doubt and negative self talk that often prevents people from reaching fluency.
Why does this happen?
It's interesting to think about, because the experience is different in your native language, you are used to it and you can easily ask for clarification and move on. Yet in a foreign language, it can often throw us and cause us to panic, shutting down our reasoning and often ending in awkwardness.
Our brains are also naturally prediction machines, unfamiliar situations can quickly be marked out as a threat, afterall, very few people like looking stupid.
What can you do about it?
1. Embrace it as part of the language learning journey, it is going to happen. If you try avoiding it, it will likely cause more issues.
2. Use it as a learning opportunity, the more it happens, the more your brain will pick up on that particular sentence that they keep using which throws you.
3. If you feel moments like this are making you doubt your abilities, consider hypnosis for language learning. I help clients of all levels overcome these stressful situations.