It's hard to make yourself speak when you don't feel confident, but to get better at speaking English, you have to practice. So where do you start? How can you become more confident with speaking English?1. Fake it 'till you make it!There's a saying in English, "Fakeit 'tillyoumakeit." It means to pretend to be good at something, and pretend to feel confident. Asyoucontinue and build your skill, yourfake confidence will be replaced by real confidence.When you get a chance to speak to people in English, take it! Stand up straight and tall. Jump into the conversation and speak as if you're completely fluent.2. Realize that your mistakes don't matter.When I was a teenager, I used to think that everyone at school was looking at me and judging what I looked like, what I wore, and how I acted. As I got older, I realized that no one really cared what I did; they were too busy worrying about themselves.That's true of your English skill, too. The people you're speaking with probably don't care whether your grammar is good or bad. They have their own problems to worry about.Not only that, but English speakers are already used to understanding foreign accents. Most English-speaking countries have a lot of residents who were born in different countries. So native English speakers have a lot of experience with speaking to people with different accents. They may not even think about the fact that your English isn't perfect.3. Take it easy.Just because you're speaking to someone in English doesn't mean that you have to try out every word and every grammatical structure you know.When you're in a conversation, your first job is just to listen to the other person. If you're listening carefully, you won't have time to worry about your own language problems.Your next job is to respond to what other people are saying. Your response can be a smile or frown, a few simple words, or a short question. It doesn't have to be complicated.Don't feel like you have to express every idea that you have in English. Some of your ideas might be too complicated for you to talk about right now. It's OK to save them for later and say something a little simpler instead.4. Prepare.In the end, the best way to feel confident is to become a better English speaker. Certain kinds of practice can be really helpful for boosting your confidence:Practicing speaking will make you a better speaker. Even if you speak by yourself, you're training the muscles of your mouth and throat to produce English sounds.Reviewing things that you've learned in the past, rather than trying to learn new things, can make you feel more sure about what you're saying.If you know that you're going to talk about a specific topic, learning specific vocabulary for that topic will make you feel a lot more prepared. For example, if you're going to a job interview, make sure that you know how to describe your education background and job history.Many language programs put too much emphasis on grammar and not enough emphasis on speaking. They spread the idea that you have to know all the grammar rules before you can start speaking, which can have the effect of reducing your confidence when you finally start speaking. This is backwards. You should learn to speak first to build your confidence, and then work on correcting your grammar after youve reached a basic level of fluency.Everybody makes mistakes, even native speakers of English. Nobody is born speaking perfect English; fluency is something that takes time and hard work to achieve. There are many Americans who go through 13 years of schooling and still dont learn how to speak English properly.So dont be discouraged by your mistakes. Learn to embrace them and value them for the role they play in your learning.3. Dont Apologize For Your LevelSomething that really annoys me when Im talking to someone in English is when they apologize for how much English they speak. Ive never been offended by someones level of English, and I dont get upset when someone makes mistakes. If you talk to someone and they do get offended or upset because of your level of English they are an evil person who probably tortures kittens in their spare time.Most of the people who apologize for their level of English feel like they should speak better than they do. Its fine to think this, but dont get upset at yourself for not knowing more than you do. Achieving fluency in any language is a process that takes time, and you cant expect to become fluent overnight. Whether youve been studying English for years or only for a few months, youve put in a lot of work to get where you are, so dont underestimate yourself.4. Dont get frustrated with yourselfLearning English will come with a certain amount of frustration. At some point you will come to a stage where you wont be able to fully express yourself like you would be able to in your native language, and there will be times when you wont be able to find the right word to say.Nearly everyone who learns English goes through this phase; its just a natural part of the language learning process. This stage may last only a few weeks if you are completely immersed in English, but it could last years if you only use English twice a week at your language school. The only way to overcome this frustration is by practice, practice, practice.Keep in mind that this frustration isnt because youre not smart enough, or because the language is too difficult, it is something that many people have to go through. By embracing this frustration and feeling it more intensely through increased exposure you can pass through this stage more rapidly.5. Dont take it personally when people dont understand youAt some point in your English speaking career you are going to speak to someone who, no matter how hard you try just cant seem to understand you. Due to the large number of English speakers in the world, there are a wide range of accents, some of which are hard to understand. I for one have a hard time understanding some Australian accents and most Irish accents.Youll have this problem a lot when talking with people who arent used to dealing with foreigners. If they dont have this experience they will be used to hearing English spoken in a very specific way, and they wont have any frame of reference when talking to you. Realize that this isnt a reflection of your language skills, but rather a reflection of this persons lack of exposure to different people.This can also happen when talking to English learners who have a lower level of English than you. They wont be able to understand everything you say because of your more advanced vocabulary. Try to remember that you were once at their level and not everyone is at the same place on their language journey.The same person who gets offended when you speak English also tortures kittens like these.6. Dont compare yourself to other English SpeakersNo matter what level your English is at, you had to work hard to bring yourself to that level. Be proud of what youve accomplished and dont be too concerned with what other people think about it. They dont know how many hours youve had to work to get to where you are, they dont know all the struggles youve been through to get there.This also means you shouldnt go around comparing yourself to other people. Everybody is different; some people learn languages more easily than others and some people have spent more time working to improve their English. Just because your friend who lived in London for 3 years can speak really well doesnt mean that youre not on the right path.Some people like to see others fail, and by paying any attention to these people you are just feeding their negativity. Any time you spend worrying about what they think of you is time wasted that could be better spent by working to improve your English.7. If you are fluent, or just think you are, DONT GET COCKY (ARROGANT) Life (English) is a Journey Not a Destination.English is not a chip in your brain. Its a learning process. Maybe this is gonna seem harsh, and definitely a bit paradoxical, but for the rare English Jedi breed, they realize that theres never really perfect fluency, only the impassioned and ever-approaching journey toward it.This means that when you finally become fluent, (whatever that really means to you or to the world), you shouldnt adopt the attitude of somebody who thinks I already learned English because there are some fundamental problems and limitations that come from this assumption. Here are just a few: Youre living a lie because you never stop learning a language. It is like calling yourself a fully-realized human being. Theres always the next level up, and the current level always needs practice. The learner tends to get lazy, and its a universal fact about any learning process, that if you arent growing, you are probably getting worse. The inflated ego prevents you from recognizing the final 5 or 10% that separates you from the master Jedi breed of English speakers. There is a tendency to treat other English learners (or people who are learning their language) in a condescending, totally idiotic way, forgetting what it is like to learn because they themselves are no longer connected to their own learning process. Cultural Understanding: You can know everything about grammar, but that doesnt mean you are fluent. You need to be constantly connected to the source of the language (culture) so that it flows from who you really are.So there you have it, 7 things not to do when speaking English. Now that you know what not to do, go out there and speak English!Hurraaaaah, Lets Talk. Hmm..