Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Before
moving to Canada, one of the things that I feared the most was speaking the
English language. I mean, I was not entirely unfamiliar with the English
language since I had studied it in school. In the Philippines, students are
taught English from kindergarten up until college. Despite having had learned
English in school, I was scared and terrified by the fact that I would be
speaking full English in conversations. As part of my not-so-pretty human nature,
I don’t fancy to look stupid. I did not want people to think I was not smart,
and that was my biggest mistake.
As a
Filipino, I would say it is part of our culture that we laugh at everything. Man,
the way we laugh at everything. If you mispronounce an English word, laughter
immediately ensues (especially if you mix up the “p” and “f”, “o” and “u”, or “i”
and “e” sounds). Though it is merely for fun, it is still pretty embarrassing
to be laughed at. Because of this mentality, I had a notion that other people would
look down at me or laugh at me at my poor communication skills. I did not want
to be laughed at because of my English skills—whether it may be because of my
pronunciation, accent, or grammar.
That was
where my mistake was made.
I was too
hard on myself. I forgot that I was at square one. I am not a superhuman. I am not
perfect and I commit mistakes. Besides, not all people are cruel. To think that
they would belittle me is just plain petty and narrow-minded of me.
I
spent my first two weeks not talking to other people, nervous about doing
activities that involved interacting with people such as ordering at the
cashier, interacting with salespersons, and asking for directions. I tried not
to converse with anyone.
Thankfully,
I learned how to cope. My confidence grew each day and having friends to
converse with helps alongside watching movies, reading books and.. watching
movies. Wait, I have already said that. Seriously though, watch movies and even
turn the subtitles on. You might be surprised to find yourself using the same
catchphrases and comebacks that they used.
So go on! Do not be afraid (especially not for the same reasons that
I had), do not be shy, and be proactive!
CHEERS!
Anonymeh
“Here's the thing about
mistakes: Sometimes, even when you know something’s a mistake, you gotta make
it anyway.” - Ted Mosby
