Do you tense up in certain situations when speaking your second language?

[True2marie]

My neighbor moved to America from Iran less than a year ago. Upon arrival, she knew no English. Although she has learned a lot over the past few months, she still struggles to speak English fluently.

She recently told me that she 'tenses up' when approached by her boss at work and can barely remember any English at all. 

Is this scenario common?

[sidney]

I think it all depends upon the person if they're the type that gets nervous and anxious easily. And since it's her boss she's talking to, that behavior would be quite understandable. As for me, I haven't experienced being tense when a foreigner speaks to me, because I'm quite fluent in English anyway.

[Trellum]

My second language is english, but I'm well past the stage in which I used to get nervious whenever I had to talk with a native english speaker.  The anxiety was there, it really was!  I used to get so nervious back then, I felt so shy people would think my accent was weird or pronounce things so badly I'd be laughed at.

This feeling is no longer there. But I have the feeling I'll get it again, but this time with Dutch! It might not happen today or tomorrow, but soon!  Specially when I move there!  I'll try not to use english at all once I move there.  Ah well, at least I'm older and wiser!

[SirTenenbaum]

Foreign language anxiety can be a problem for people. Even though I'm almost finish with my master's degree in Spanish Linguistics, I still feel uncomfortable speaking Spanish in certain situations. Although, the problem might not be so much Spanish as it is general nervousness or feeling uncomfortable. I might just tend to blame it on my Spanish even though I would still feel at a loss for words in similar situations even if I were speaking English.

[lindbergh]

Yup, there are times when I tense up if I use my second language especially when talking to someone prominent or talking in front of a large crowd. There would be times that I would be searching for this term or that so I would need to pause for a few seconds. It's kind of embarrassing but I can't do anything can I? Probably with a lot of practice, speaking in my second language would come out of my mouth naturally.

[devilishomar]

It's definitely a common scenario I've noticed, and not just with other people. I figured this out when I was just starting to learn my second language. This case was especially true when I was talking to a grown-up/adult.

I guess it's probably because you're afraid that other people will make fun of the way you speak or the way you mix up certain words in front of them.

[JoanMcWench]

I wouldn't say I 'tense' so much as I am nervous about getting the nuances of the language correct when speaking to those that are fluent. This may just be a personal confidence issue and not really an issue with speaking a language. I've never really had conversations on the matter with people new to English. Perhaps, now I will be more cognizant about it.

[justusforus]

I have been a speaker or trainer in most of my adult work life.  Since this has all been in my native tongue, I am very comfortable and have no "stage fright" ever.  Now take the same scenario in a second tongue and I do get tense.  I guess it is the lack of comfort or not being competely sure of my tone or accent, I am more self conscious.

[Daimashin]

I think it depends on how good that person is with that specific language. In your friend's case, she hardly knows English and that causes her to lack the confidence when speaking. Coupled with how she gets nervous talking to her boss just makes it worse. For me, I also tend to forget sometimes when talking with someone of higher authority. What I do is to talk to people more to train myself to get used to different people.

[scribe_of_the_stars]

It is very common, especially in situations where you are required to produce information or someone else (e.g your boss, doctors). I personally tense up when I am in a meeting and it's it is my turn to speak in Japanese.

[polaroidsredwine]

I live in an area with quite a few Spanish-speakers.  When I worked retail in a terribly large chain store, a lot of people would walk up to me and start talking in Spanish.  Since it was so unexpected, I used to lock up and panic a little.  My weird mixed background tends to make people think I've got some Mexican heritage, so ...

I'm pretty bad at handling people in general, but the sudden thrusting of Spanish on me used to take my by surprise and ended up making me forget all I knew, haha.

[FatesWing]

At times I definitely do tense up. I think it comes from a personal expectation to want to get through the conversation without the other person looking at you as if you are a fool. At the end of the day you have to give yourself some credit! Learning a new language can be intimidating especially when you find yourself having to communicate with people in authority such as a boss.

[marmunmrhundun]

I won't say that I tense up, but I do however think a lot when I am speaking in my second language. It is hard, because you never know what you may say or how it may come out. You always want to be right and when speaking my second language, I sometimes don't know if I will be right or not.

[Hedonologist]

Not at all, even the language where my vocabulary is extremely limited. I mean of course i sometimes have to pause to think about a word, or try to pause to think of an alternative phrasing but never tense up in an anxious sense.

[Denis Hard]

I was once asked to deliver a speech in a foreign language.

I just froze up. The words could not even get in my mind and I to apologize and tell them those in the room I couldn't do it. It's definitely something that could happen to anyone. . .

[JohnSword]

I do tense up in certain situations which require me to speak my second language. I guess it's partly because I get stressed easily. Also, I'm afraid that I would unknowingly insult the other party if I use the wrong word or phrase. Other times my mind just goes blank while searching for the right words to express what I mean.

[Bonyi]

This is possible when you are not fluent in your second language and it is only for a period of time after which, you'll no longer be tensed when speaking it.

[lllllllllllllllllllllllll]

Not anymore, but I did stutter a lot the first time I talked to a foreigner when I was a kid. I'm part of the baseball team in high school and our school hired a foreign coach. When I first met him I'm not that confident that I can express myself properly in English, so I stuttered whenever I talk to him. But eventually I got comfortable speaking in English and was able to overcome this matter. 

[SarahRTW]

oooh yes

If I am not nervous, I am fine. However, if I feel put on the spot or nervous, I freeze. My pronunciation gets worse and more accented and I forget even the simplest words.  Mind you, I forget words something when I am nervous and speaking English but its event worse when its a language I am studying.

[Peninha]

Yes I do, I get nervous when I speak in public and if it's a foreign language it's even worse, there's no reason for it really, it's not about the language, I'd get nervous if I spoke in Portuguese as well.

[Meera]

Yes  I have very high anxiety when speaking a second language. I get so nervous when speaking Hindi, because I'm afraid I will make a mistake or sound awful, actually I have this with all languages I try to speak.

[mikka254]

I had this problem when I was younger when I didn't have any confidence with my language skills but now, I'm fluent no matter the mood I'm in.

[jfab]

I am nervous in speaking Spanish. It does tense me a little bit especially when speaking with a large crowd. But I'm starting gain confidence lately so it should be better soon.

[Rosa]

English is my second language and the first language I learnt to write in school. I never tense up because I am in doubt of my fluency when I speak English. If I do It may be because I am in a formal setting which I quickly snap out of as soon as I catch myself feeling awkward.

[secretgoldfish]

I do tense up, even speaking English, because sometimes I have trouble with the pronunciation of words, I just can't quite get it right sometimes.