I still Can’t Speak English

I Still Can’t Speak English
13
What Stops You Speaking?
The human brain can operate well whilst experiencing high levels of anxiety, even stress. In fact, a little 
stress is good for performance. Rugby commentators say that someone is “up for it” and really mean 
that the player is at the optimal level of nervous stimulation to perform at their very best.
But it is a delicate path that we all follow when the adrenalin starts to pump. That feeling of nervous 
anxiety and excitement running through our body is often the difference between doing something well 
and not doing it properly at all.
However, under-stimulation is not the only way you and I can fail to perform. Over-stimulation, or 
over anxiety about what we are about to try and do can get so powerful that beyond a certain point our 
performance drops like a stone and we fail miserably. We miss the crucial injury time penalty, we lose 
our temper and get sent off, or when we are put in the spotlight we don’t speak clearly or forget what 
to say completely.
Some scientists even created a law, the Yerkes-Dodson law
13
, which explains the relationship between 
arousal and performance. Over-arousal for a task, such as speaking a foreign language without the right 
mental preparation and support, can lead to a complete drop-off in performance and the memory will 
struggle.

---

Download free eBooks at bookboon.com