Speaking Anxiety?

[TheCheshireCat]

Anyone else suffer from speaking anxiety?  
I always get really nervous for SACs or just speaking in Japanese in general.

How do you deal with this 'drawback'?

[mystikal]

yea i did haha stuttered heaps and stuff

however, after a couple of practices with strangers, teacher, friends it became better because you feel more comfortable speaking it and confident afterall, plus u might think its fun after a while.

[liuetenant]

it helps if you've studied your speech...or dialogue...or lines well. i find that when i did my speaking sac, it went real fast because all my lines just rolled out and i didn't even think about it....i didnt even register what it meant! that way you can gain some confidence and not freak out...
and it's really not all that bad... get used to your teacher and then from there, it gets easier, just practise your lines, say them to random people (i did to my friends who had no idea what i was saying), to the wall, the anything... becasue the more you say the lines, the more confident you'll get!

lol, my teacher deliberately puts in a mean face so he can mirror for us the assessors for the october oral exams

[Readinya]

I think i'm horrible at speaking too.

But here's how i survived my speaking SAC earlier in Term 2:
1. Memorise your lines, but allow room for minor adjustments. Memorise extra back-up lines like: Sorry, may i start again? or Can you repeat that question? Once you memorise them, you realise that it's just rolling off your tongue.

2. After memorisation comes tone. Put expression into your voice as you speak, so you convince your teacher and examiner that you are confident and passionate. Everyone hates monotone, and monotone would be easier for your examiner to detect if you memorised it or if you know your stuff.

3. SMILE! It softens up the examiners so they smile back, and you feel less tense. Use facial expressions to mimic the expression in your voice. Seriously, i think it was this that saved my butt in the SAC. My teacher puts HUUGE emphasis in feeling what you're saying.

[liuetenant]

^ ooh, i like the third point. smiling heaps u to relax! true true! hopefully we'll all gun the end of year orals!!

[kensan]

Yeah just practise the lines over and over, but be sure to actually listen to the question being asked so you can respond correctly!
I'm just really dreading the oral exam.... so nerve racking!