Pippa

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Pippa. And I'm Beth. Have you ever been scared of speaking in English? In this episode, we're talking about why speaking in a foreign language can be so stressful. So, Pippa, do you ever get nervous speaking in a different language?

But first I have a question for you, Pippa. So English has around one million words, but on average, how many words does a typical English speaker use in daily conversation? Is it A, between 2,000 and 3,000?

B, between 20,000 and 30,000. Or C, between 200,000 and 300,000. I'm going to say A, 2,000 to 3,000. Okay, well, we will find out later in the programme.

Now, Pippa, you said you found it stressful speaking in French, even though you are quite good at it. Now, someone else who has had this experience is Hanan Razek. Hanan is a journalist at BBC Arabic and also host of the podcast Beating Speaking Anxiety.

So why do so many people have anxiety about speaking a foreign language? Experts think it's connected to the beliefs we have about ourselves. Han Luo, professor of Chinese at Lafayette College in the United States, explains more to BBC Learning English presenter Georgie. Usually the beliefs that cause anxiety, especially severe anxiety, we call it irrational beliefs.

Hans sanoi, että joillakin ihmisillä, joilla puhutaan yllättävää, on vähäisiä itseperiaatteita. Itseperiaatteesi on se, mitä ajattelet itseäsi. Itseperiaatteet ja irrasiaaliset uskot ovat kuitenkin sisäisiä faktoreita. Ne tulevat sinun ympärilläsi, eikä ihmisistä ympärilläsi. Esimerkiksi, kun puhutaan ensimmäisen kieliäsi,

The answer is twenty to thirty thousand. That's quite a lot. Yeah, that's loads. Okay, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt. Pretty can be used as a modifier to mean quite or a bit. If you relate to a person or situation, you understand them, usually because you've experienced something similar. Anxiety is feeling uncomfortable or worried about something that is happening or could happen in the future.

Irrational beliefs are beliefs about something that is not true. They're not logical. Self-perception is the way you see yourself. And internal means inside the body or mind. Once again, our six minutes are up. But if you'd like to find out more about speaking anxiety, then head over to our website, bbclearningenglish.com,

to find our Beating Speaking Anxiety series. There are podcasts about the things we find scary when speaking a different language and videos with tips to help you feel more confident with speaking. Thanks for joining us and goodbye. Goodbye!

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Pippa.

And I'm Beth.

Yes, we used to go and pick blackberries when I was younger, but I haven't really done it as an adult.

And I would be a bit nervous to look for mushrooms or things like that.

What about you?

I'm exactly the same.

If I see a blackberry on a bush, I will eat it.

But mushrooms, no, too scary.

So in this episode, we'll meet two young women from different countries who are passionate about foraging wild food.

They're both self-taught, having learned to forage by studying the natural world around them.