How to Speak Confidently a Foreign Language

Let’s Talk About What Really Helps

You’ve been learning a new language for a while now, you understand a good amount, you handle pretty well with your teacher or fellow students… But when it comes to actually speaking in public, in a real-life situation you freeze.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. At Discussit, we work with adult learners every day and almost all of them deal with this fear at some point. And you know what? The usual advice doesn’t really help.

“Just be confident.”“Practice more.”🙄

Let’s be honest: those tips sound nice, but they don’t really do anything when you’re staring at someone, heart racing, brain blank, trying to remember how to say "I don't put sugar in my coffe" to the waiter.

So in this post, we want to offer you something different—real strategies that come from experience and from the very real, messy process of learning to speak confidently in a new language.

1. Stop Aiming for Perfect—Aim to Be Understood

You probably already heard this one, but we have to insist on it, because it is really a game-changer.

So many learners (especially adults!) hold themselves to crazy high standards. You want perfect grammar, perfect pronunciation, the perfect word in the perfect moment.

But you know what people actually want when they talk to you? To understand what you’re saying.

✨ The real win is communication, not correctness.

So try this: instead of thinking, “I have to say this perfectly,” ask yourself, “Can they understand what I mean?” That shift makes speaking so much less scary—and surprisingly, it makes you sound more natural, too.

By the way, don't forget that a good part of communication is actually non-verbal. Even when you speak your language, you use your body and face to communicate more easily.

2. Fluent = Fast, right?

Well… not exactly.

In fact, trying to speak too fast is often what makes us sound less fluent, more nervous, and way more likely to forget everything we know.

You want to feel more confident, sound clearer, and reduce that stress?

Speak S-L-O-W-E-R.

Slowing down your speech is like pressing a mental “pause” button.

You’re taking control of the pace. You’re deciding when to breathe, when to think, when to move on.

At Discussit, we always remind our students: fluency isn’t speed—it’s flow. And flow needs space.

Have you ever noticed that in interviews, politicians speak slowly? It’s because they need time to think before speaking—about how to answer, how their words might be perceived, and so on. By doing this, they stay in control instead of panicking.

3. Prepare a Few “Go-To” Phrases That Sound Like You

Even if you speak more slowly, you might still need to pause. Pauses are inevitable—and totally normal. Speaking in a foreign language takes much more brainpower than speaking in your native one.

And that’s okay! The trick is to “dress up” those pauses with a few ready-made phrases you can keep in your back pocket. Not fancy textbook expressions, but short, everyday lines that actually sound like you. Think of them as your language safety net.

These phrases are lifesavers when your brain goes blank or when the conversation speeds up. They help you buy time, express uncertainty without panicking, and keep things moving—even when you’re not 100% sure what to say next.

Here are a few examples our students love:

💬 “Let me put it the right way.”

💬 “How can I say this clearly?”

💬 “Let me organize my thoughts.”

💬 “That’s not easy to answer right away.”

Of course, there are plenty more. The idea is to acknowledge that you need a second to form your sentence—without falling back on awkward “umms” or looking lost. These phrases give you that pause while still sounding calm and confident.speaking

Just make sure they sound like you. Feel free to tweak or adapt them to match your natural style.

4. Find Spaces Where Mistakes Are Unimportant, or Even Welcome

   
   

Sometimes we feel stressed when speaking in a foreign language because we fear what our interlocutor will think of us. It might be your international crush, your boss at work, or just the old French lady at the post office looking at you like, "Oh, I'm gonna have trouble with this one!"

Evacuate this social or emotional pressure by talking to people you can never meet again, or even to AI!

Finding yourself a tandem partner online may alleviate the pressure because you don't know this person, you will never meet them (unless you want to), and they don't know your name. You both know that if the communication doesn't work, you will forget each other in a minute.

AI has become another way to have this "no-pressure" talk. Do you care if ChatGPT or Gemini notice your pronunciation mistakes? I hope not. Use the vocal mode of these tools to have genuine conversations.

By the way, some apps or websites will sell you "a personalized AI tutor." Don't fall for this; it's only a ChatGPT API with an animated avatar. There is no added value compared to the original ChatGPT, which you can use for free.