Recently we had a discussion with a student of mine, and she said something that surprised us both. 

-I have been speaking French for the past 20 years, and still make errors. 

-How long have you been learning Greek?, I asked her.

We laughed. 

I remember a woman that I knew from a book club, some years ago. She was in her 60s and she was living in Greece probably for 20 years at that time, and she also worked in a very communication-based job. In the book club we were speaking about many topics, including politics, gender, psychology and relationships. Her vocabulary, her syntax, her choice of words was impeccable. And she still made some mistakes. She would misgender a word. She would lose the syntax in a longer phrase. She would use a verb in the wrong tense. I have seen her stop and start the phrase again. I have also seen her continue speaking naturally.

If you are learning Greek, you may have said or done the following things:

• “I first want to understand it very well”
• “Greek is so difficult. Maybe I will speak well in 20 years” (joking)
• Trying to use things that you don’t know yet, and then losing the flow of speaking
• Freezing when being asked a question

These things are of course normal and understandable, and there are many reasons behind them. Realistically, in every level, there will always be something you don’t know yet in Greek. Even for the things you do know, you can be aware that you make mistakes, and still not be self-conscious about it. You can relax knowing that this is how it is done and there is no way around it. You learn by doing. It is a skill, like exercise or cooking.

For me, the number one predictor of success that I see in students is:

Not caring about whether you speak “well”.

Surprisingly, the thing that has helped me understand language learning the most, is the singing lessons that I have been taking for the past 4 years. For me, singing was challenging because it was not something that I could simply study and process intellectually. Every time I would sing, all I could think about was whether I sounded good. My body and throat would lock. My teacher, K., would gently prompt me to give it a try. She said “don’t care about how it will come out”. I would simply not do it. Every time I realised that I had made a mistake (and to be honest, before I even opened my mouth), stress flooded me.

4 years later, have I completely solved those issues? Absolutely not. Am I still making mistakes? Yes. Do I still feel a bit anxious and self-conscious? Yes. But the grip of those feelings has loosened significantly. It doesn’t stop me from continuing to learn and sing. It doesn’t stop me from feeling joy and loving this. 

In speaking a new language, you can gradually move from:

“How do I sound?”
to
“How do I feel?”

Little by little, speaking becomes less about sounding perfect and more about expressing yourself and trying things.

Mistakes are not proof that you are failing at Greek. They are part of learning. Don’t let them stop you from using the language and enjoying the process.