How to Overcome the Fear of Speaking Spanish

Feeling nervous before speaking Spanish is completely normal. The good news: confidence is a skill you can train with simple, repeatable habits. This guide gives you a step by step plan, friendly scripts, and quick interactive practice to help you speak more and worry less.

Why speaking feels scary

• Fear of mistakes and judgment
• Fear of not understanding or freezing
• Pressure to sound like a native immediately

Small exposures reduce fear over time. Think gym for your voice, short sessions done regularly.

To express how you feel in Spanish, see our A2 set on feelings and states of mind.

The 5 step plan to reduce speaking anxiety

1) Warm up your mouth and brain in 2 minutes

• Whisper the Spanish alphabet and roll your r for 20 seconds
• Shadow one short sentence three times
• Smile while speaking, it relaxes facial muscles and boosts clarity

Try shadowing this friendly opener three times:

• Hola, soy [tu nombre]. Todavía estoy aprendiendo español.

Todavíastill removes pressure and sets expectations.

New to greetings? Practice the essentials with basic greetings and phrases.
Also, review when to use ser vs. estar here: ser vs estar.

2) Use rescue phrases that keep conversations alive

Memorize a few lines that buy time when you get stuck.

• ¿Cómo se dice...?How do you say...?
• ¿Podrías hablar más despacio, por favor?Could you speak more slowly, please?
• ¿Podrías repetirlo, por favor?Can you repeat that, please?
• Lo siento, no entiendo bienSorry, I do not understand well
• Estoy aprendiendo españolI am learning Spanish

3) Adopt the 70 percent rule

If you understand about 70 percent, respond anyway. Fill the gaps with simple connectors:

• entoncesso or then
• pueswell
• o sealike or I mean
• a verlet us see

Strengthen your toolkit with more linkers in connectors and sequence words.

4) Scale your exposure with a simple ladder

Start private, move to public. Repeat each step for 3 to 5 days.

1. Private practice, 2 minutes daily voice notes about your day
2. Shadow and then paraphrase one podcast sentence
3. Send 30 second voice messages to a friend or tutor
4. Short real interactions, ask for prices and directions — practice with places in the city
5. Longer chats, 5 to 10 minutes on a friendly topic

For short, friendly listening you can shadow, try our A1 stories.

5) Reflect fast to build confidence

After each interaction, write three lines:

• One thing you said clearly
• One phrase to improve next time
• One tiny win to celebrate

Confidence grows where you put your attention. Track wins.

Practice corner

Try this quick scramble to build your go to request for clarity.

Now test your strategy when you forget a word.

Ready to use micro scripts

Use these anywhere. Keep them handy in your notes.

• Start a chat
  Hola, soy [tu nombre]. Estoy practicandoI am practicing. ¿Cómo estás?

• Set expectations
  Todavía estoy aprendiendo españolI am still learning Spanish. Si hablo raro, corrígeme por favor.

• Ask for slower speech
  ¿Podrías hablar más despacio por favor?

• Ask for repetition
  ¿Podrías repetirlo, por favor?

• Buy time
  Pues, a ver, buena preguntagood question.

• Paraphrase to confirm
  Entonces, quieres decir que...

• Admit a gap
  Me falta vocabulario aquí, pero intento explicarlo

• Keep it simple
  Prefiero palabras simples. Gracias

Common fears and quick fixes

• I will make mistakes
  You will, and that is how your brain updates its map. Mistakes are data

• People will get annoyed
  Most people like helping learners. Set the tone with Estoy aprendiendo español and say gracias

• I freeze and forget everything
  Breathe in for four, out for six. Start with your anchor line Estoy practicando and one tiny question

• My accent is bad
  Aim for clear, not perfect. Record yourself weekly and notice one sound improving

A 7 day mini challenge

• Day 1, say Hola and one question to two people
• Day 2, ask for repetition once
• Day 3, use ¿Cómo se dice...? to learn one new word
• Day 4, leave a 30 second Spanish voice note to a friend
• Day 5, order food or coffee fully in Spanish
• Day 6, share a short story from your day, two to three sentences
• Day 7, review your wins and choose one script to make automatic

Menu help for Day 5: browse food and meals.

Keep going

Speak a little every day, even when it feels messy. Your brain learns by doing, not by waiting. If you want guided reps, build a routine with short shadowing, one rescue phrase, and a two minute voice note. That simple loop reduces fear and grows fluency.