Language proficiency barrier My biggest barrier in learning languages Learning languages is fascinating. It is one of the things I enjoy doing in my leisure times, on my way to school and just about whenever I have some spare time. It is extremely gratifying and fulfilling, but there are certain things that keep me from enjoying this process even more. It is something that brings about stress and frustration and at times could be discouraging. Fear of embarrassing myself in front of native speakers is something unbearable to me, which is why I very often rather stay in my own comfort zone and only say the things I know for sure I'm going to get right. I have stopped taking risks and trying my luck with what I would probably be saying right just for fear. This is only true with native speakers, though. I have found myself speaking with great fluency and without fear of making mistakes with non-natives of that language. I know it's probably because they won't be judging since they themselves would very likely make the same mistakes and wouldn't even notice if I said something wrong. I live in South Korea and even if I get a plethora of chances of speaking Korean every day I decide not to. Do you guys have any advice on how to tear down this huge wall that's keeping me from reaching proficiency in languages? Thanks a lot!