I am an international student in the US, and in a year I would say that I haven’t made any friend at all. Everytime I try to speak it takes so much for me to think what I want to reply that most of the time I and up only smiling or saying Yeah. The more time I spend the harder it gets after people create their ideas of you as a shy person and they start to talk less with you.
I wouldn’t call my self extroverted neither introverted; I definitely feel the need of having friends but I don’t mind spending time alone. I would say I feel probably insecure thought about speaking in English.
Does anyone have any tips and help?
5 comments
Just have to practice the more you talk the easier it gets. Hardest part is trying
You seem to have hobbies, you can always meet groups with similar interest, maybe you’re just meeting people who you have nothing in common with and no matter the language, that will always be difficult to work with.
You can also find clubs too that would give you a reason to interact on campus.
I’ve often found that non-native speakers are so worried about their supposed lack of english skill that they sabotage their own success. Most of the time, it’s close to perfect. They are either insecure about their grammar, or their accent, or both, but it’s generally not a problem. And I like most accents. It’s unfair to judge someone based on their accent, because it’s part of their identity, and they shouldn’t have to sound like the speakers of the region where they are traveling to, or like the people in the voice chats online.
To be honest, plenty of native English speakers are not that great at it. Find a group hobby. Having a common interest that multiple people are involved with makes it much easier to forget about the language barrier. Some of the most interesting people I have ever had the pleasure to work with on projects were still learning the language. You will meet some narrow-minded impatient jerks, but don’t let them get you upset. No one that matters likes those people.
discord.gg/english