English 1: My Worries I've been learning English since I was in the kindergarten, but I started to speak it when I was in America. I was really into English (and other foreign languages) since I was 13, but it was pretty hard for me to practice it because of the mentality of the people around me, who would see someone practicing English as someone trying to show off. Therefore, I had never spoken English in school, except in English classes. The first time I came to America, I had a lot of trouble speaking English. I was better at writing though. Every time I interact with a native speaker verbally, it was difficult for me to understand what they were saying. When I understood, then it'd take time for me to do all the construction of sentences in my head before speaking out the words. I was glad that it took only a few months for me to get used to being surrounded by the language (in terms of hearing it and being able to understand it), but I was still not very good at speaking the language. I met with one friend who was willing to help me with my English. We met almost every week to eat lunch or dinner together and converse in English. I also took the initiative to watch English videos on YouTube, speak in front of the mirror and hang out with native speakers. My English has improved a lot in 4 years and I'm so proud of myself for such a big achievement (at least for me). Despite my English having improved, I still have the hesitation to speak to native speakers. Sometimes, I will wonder, what if I say this wrong? What if that is actually incorrect? What if it sounds weird? What if the grammar is wrong? I believe they don't even care about all these things as long as they understand me, but still, I can't escape from that kind of anxiety until today. LOL