Some of the most extroverted people I know get embarrassed about speaking a foreign language in public.

This affects all types of learners at every stage of their journey—beginner, intermediate, and even advanced—often rooted in the fear of making mistakes or sounding stupid. Before I jump into my top tips for overcoming this language embarrassment, the reality that you need to understand and accept is that you will make mistakes. Just like learning any other skill in the world, you’re not going to master it immediately and secondly, most native speakers appreciate you making an effort to speak their language.

And finally, if you want to become fluent, you need to approach the learning process with a relaxed and ready-to-have-fun mindset.

Let’s dive into the tips:

Laugh at yourself: Don’t take every mistake to heart and overthink everything. Just laugh it off and your embarrassment will diminish quickly. Take note of the mistake for next time but don’t be too hard on yourself for it.

Join small language groups or classes: Being around others learning the language can be encouraging because you'll quickly realize you're not alone in making mistakes. Also, the smaller the group the less afraid you’ll feel to speak so you can build some confidence.

Practice in low-stress environments: If you still feel shaky in your speaking abilities then start speaking in settings you feel comfortable in like with your fellow language-learning friends or exchange partners, where mistakes are welcomed. Bonus tip: a few glasses of wine and you’ll feel no shame at all.