You Are Not a Criminal
I have a message for all my students. Please listen carefully. Using the wrong verb tense is not a crime. You did not rob a bank. You just forgot to use the Past Simple. It is okay. Stop looking at the floor and saying "sorry, sorry, my English is bad." It is very boring for the listener. Imagine if I apologized every time I cooked a bad dinner. I would say "sorry" every day.
Native Speakers Are Lazy
Do you think American or British people speak perfect English? No, we do not. We are actually very lazy with our language. We mumble, we ignore grammar rules, and sometimes we make no sense. So, when you make a small mistake, we usually do not notice. Or maybe we notice, but we do not care because we just want to know where the train station is. We are not grading your homework in a conversation.
Confidence is Better than Grammar
Here is a secret. If you speak terrible English with a big smile and loud voice, people will understand you. If you speak perfect grammar but you whisper and look scared, nobody will understand you. People like confidence. When you make a mistake, do not stop. Do not cry. Just keep talking. Pretend it never happened. Fake it until you make it.
The "Oops" Strategy
If you really make a big mess with a sentence, do not say "I am so sorry for my terrible language skills." Just say "Oops" or "My mistake" and try again. It is fast and funny. Laugh at yourself. When you laugh, you relax. When you relax, your brain works better. So please, save your apologies for when you actually do something bad, like stepping on my foot.
