Making mistakes in English is indeed an irrational fear.

Here’s an extract:

Ironically, however, it is completely rational because… well, it’s human psychology.

We’re all the same.

We have this fear of just making mistakes in general.

Let’s put it this way:

There is an idea in psychology where we all think of ourselves as giants. We see everyone else as these small people around us. We think “Oh, I’m so big, and because I’m a giant surrounded by tiny people I stand out too much!” But in reality, everybody believes themselves to be the giant.

And it’s the same as when you’re speaking (or doing) things in English.

For example, you’re doing a presentation in English. You’re thinking, “Well, I made a lot of mistakes during my presentation” when in reality… you didn’t make many at all, and probably the ones you did make went totally unnoticed.

So my advice is, don’t worry so about making mistakes. It happens to everybody.

Now, this isn’t to say you shouldn’t try to learn from your mistakes or eliminate them completely. But fear of making mistakes shouldn’t hop you back.

There are several ways you can do this, but if you’re interested in the methods I use the best place to start is the one-hour free training that I created. You’ll learn the 5 key changes my best clients make to improve their English as higher-level English learners.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Dr Julian Northbrook