Where did it happen?
in an English-speaking country
at a resort abroad
at the hotel reception
at the airport at school
at a presentation
on a plane
at the restaurant
at someone's place
When did it happen?
during a language immersion course
during my school years
in my childhood
during the negotiations
in a business meeting
at a job interview
on a flight
on a vacation
a long while ago
Who did you talk to?
a host family
a waiter
a customs officer
a business partner
a customer
a stranger
a friend from abroad
How did you feel about the conversation?
dreaded it
paralyzed by fear
confident
unconfident
nervous
terrified at the thought of having to speak English
ashamed
why felt bad:
afraid to make a mistake
worried about making mistakes
afraid not to understand a question
afraid to get tongue-tied
afraid to be unable to say anything at all
didn't know how to say what I wanted to say
felt like a child again
didn't have the words to express myself
it took a lot of time to answer
thought that the other person would judge me
didn't want to sound like a fool
worried that people would laugh at me if I made mistakes
ANSWERS
Well, the experience I'm going to describe is not necessarily the first one in my life as I've been learning English for years now. But it definitely was the first situation when I used English for communication in real life.
Well, you know, one thing is to speak English in classes when the need to speak is created somewhat artificially, and what you say is carefully controlled and assisted, yet another is to have real-life experience. So I still have a vivid picture of that morning when my mom entered my room with a wonderful piece of news. Her school friend who'd been living in America was coming to see her and invited us for dinner. The problem was she was coming with her husband who spoke only English.
I was terrified at the thought of having to speak English, so when my mom's friend introduced me to her husband, I got all tongue tied and hardly managed to say 'Hi'. I worried that he would laugh at me if I made mistakes. It was a nightmare. During the first part of the meeting I didn't say a word, I was just smiling and nodding at times to show I was listening to everybody attentively. I was paralyzed by fear.
He quickly figured out what my problem was and, at some point, he started asking me question after question. If it hadn't been for that, I would have spent the whole evening just sitting and smiling. But I understood there was no retreat and joined the conversation, still being afraid that everybody would judge me. Gradually I managed to overcome my fear and even started enjoying the talk. We talked and laughed. I picked up some interesting vocabulary. To tell the truth, only after that meeting did I start speaking English with more confidence and ease.
Describe a good decision you made recently
You should say:
what the decision was and how you made it
when you made it
why it was a good decision
how you felt about it
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