From Fear to Fluency: Overcome Speaking Anxiety Through Grammar Mastery for Clear and Effective Communication

Language is humans' most important communication tool since it allows us to express our emotions, thoughts, and ideas. Language enables us to interact with others, exchange ideas, cooperate, develop social bonds, and get a more in-depth understanding of our surroundings. But how do we interact with people from outside our own country? Well, since around the 8th century, English was established as an international language, which is the root of British colonialism that occurred in that century. But the worries and fears of speaking English as a second language are very frequent and common for many students. These worries often occur usually because of the fear of making mistakes in speaking, sounding unnatural, or the fear of not being understood by the other person. As stated by Krashen (1981), The Affective Filter Hypothesis suggests that emotional elements, such as anxiety, have a major impact on language learning. When learners are anxious, their "filter" becomes activated, making it more difficult for them to absorb new linguistic input. Anxiety during speaking could affect learners' ability to communicate openly, limiting their ability to use the language and open to comprehensible input.

However, becoming proficient in grammar is a potent and frequently disregarded strategy to reduce this fear. The rules that govern a language's sounds, words, sentences, and other components---as well as how they are combined and comprehended---are known as grammar. One strategy to promote clear and successful communication is to understand grammar. Language learners who are proficient in the language can speak more confidently, express themselves more effectively, and experience less concern, anxiety, and dread.

Anxiety's Roles in Language Learning

For many people, fear of speaking is one of the most difficult aspects of learning a language, not just English, but any other language that is not their original tongue. It is normal to be afraid of something new, but how we deal with that fear is what gets us through. Many people struggle to speak English because they are afraid of making mistakes in front of others. This can lead to an avoidance cycle, in which many people avoid speaking English in order to avoid embarrassment. In fact, to be able to speak English fluently, we must practice and speak a lot. If we continue to avoid when there is an opportunity to speak, then when will our speaking skills improve?
 
Furthermore, many learners feel pushed to speak English because they observe their friends speaking clearly and rapidly, which causes depression and increases anxiety levels. Also, not a few people have extensive knowledge but are hindered when they want to express it. Many people possess vast information, yet they face obstacles when they attempt to share it. It is this inability that leads them to ineffective communication.

Grammar as the Basis for Self-Assurance

One way to fight the fear of speaking is to master grammar. By mastering grammar, we know which word structures are right and wrong, and we can also be confident in our abilities because we have mastered it. Mastering grammar also helps us to communicate more clearly and effectively.  In this way, we can avoid misunderstandings that can arise from mistakes in the use of grammar itself. Someone can talk more clearly and organise their ideas more logically, for example, if they know which tense to use correctly. This ability will leads to a smoother and enjoyable communication. Without this understanding, a person will definitely have a tough time speaking English, making them nervous, making their sentence structure disorganized, and increase their anxiety.

Relationship Between Fluency and Communication Effectiveness

Many people think that speed when speaking is the meaning of fluency, whereas the main purpose of communication is the clarity and the effectiveness of the sentences. However, someone who learns grammar will be easily understood by everybody who listens to them because they can organize and arrange the words they express in a way that is consistent with the rules of the language. Besides that, learners who master grammar will bring better and smoother conversations, they will also communicate their thoughts more confidently and they won't feel afraid of being judged when they are speaking English.

Conclusion

In conclusion, fluency in grammar leads to fluency in communication. Conquering the fear of speaking English is critical for efficient communication, and learning grammar is an important part of that process. Understanding grammatical rules gives learners the confidence to organize their thoughts clearly and express themselves correctly, which reduces anxiety. Fluency is defined as the clarity and efficiency of communication rather than its speed. As learners improve their grammatical skills, they will feel more comfortable and confident of joining conversations without fear of making mistakes. Lastly, grammar mastery allows language learners to communicate confidently, making their interactions more valuable and effective.

 
 
 
Reference:
Krashen, S. D. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Pergamon Press.
https://www.sdkrashen.com/content/books/sl_acquisition_and_learning.pdf