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03:24
July 12, 2011
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Hi! 
I've been learning Russian for about a year, but unfortunately, I haven't done as much speaking as I would've liked. My issue isn't that I don't have the opportunity to practice my Russian… the problem is that I choose not to.
I really want to practice speaking Russian; in fact, I've had a number of natives (mostly male) offer to practice with me via Skype. The problem is that I find this to be slightly intimidating for whatever reason, and so I always say "no." I'm not entirely sure why: I wouldn't describe myself as being shy (I'm more in the middle of the introvert-extrovert spectrum), and I'm not afraid of making mistakes (a native Russian lives near me, and I make a fool out of myself every time I talk with her, so I'm used to making mistakes ). I don't think this is an issue for all women (yes, I'm a girl, don't know if that plays into this), which is the reason I decided to post this in the general forum as opposed to the "Ladies Only" section. I'm just… weird.
Anyway, this is kind of a strange situation, but I was wondering if anyone else ever experienced anything like this, or if anyone has any good advice for getting over this case of "webcam shyness," for lack of a better thing to call it (I hate to call it "shyness" for fear of sparking the 'you're-not-really-an-introvert/shy-because-only-2%-of-the-population-are-true-introverts' argument that was happening on a post from Benny's blog, but I don't know how else to describe it). I'd love to hear everyone's comments and suggestions (try not to make fun of me too much ).
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(intermediate) Current Mission:
04:42
July 5, 2011
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I'd like to hear people's suggestions too, because I've also avoided speaking to people via webcam. I'm afraid I'll waste their time.
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07:25
July 6, 2011
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Have you guys considered just not using a webcam? I've only used the call feature on Skype.
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, ancien grec
08:05
July 5, 2011
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Darklight1216 is right. Skype also has a call feature which enables you to speak to each other through a microphone without you ever having to 'see' the person (on webcam).
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10:19
July 5, 2011
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Hello,
I suffer from the same thing, but I'm not sure that it's shyness (although I do hate seeing myself on camera). I wouldn't describe myself as shy because I'm perfectly happy meeting new groups of people on my own. I am an introvert though as I can only cope with small groups for a certain amount of time before I suffer burnout/overload and just need to have a bit of time on my own to recharge.
I've spoken to a couple of long-term friends on Skype (in English and German) and I find the whole thing a bit disconcerting. There are two reasons I can think of:
1). I am a visual person so I am naturally distracted by things I see. When having a face-to-face conversation, the body language and facial expressions help. When I'm having a phone conversation in a foreign language I find I have to shut my eyes sometimes in order to concentrate on what the other person is saying and block out all the irrelevant visual interference in the room around me. I know that the video feature on Skype should theoretically help with the body language thing but this brings me onto my next point:
2). The picture you see is somewhat disconnected. I always find the other person on the screen isn't looking at me directly, as they would be in a real, face-to-face conversation, but at the camera or somewhere else around the room. This is distracting and unnatural. It's a bit like having a conversation with a friend who isn't really paying attention but looking over your should at something going on behind you.
Try skyping without the camera and see how you get on. You can always start using it later when you feel more comfortable with it.
Karen
13:21
Experienced Language Hacker
July 9, 2011
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Hey everyone……great topic, as I think a lot of us have our target language floating about in our head, but we are scared to go forth and use it. I too can be quite shy about using my webcam to talk to native Spanish speakers. Even someone I have been communicating with for months can make me nervous when they offer to chat via Skype. I think the microphone only suggestion is a good one, as it can aleviate some of the pressure, but it also makes you focus your ears on the language. Certainly being able to see the facial expressions and hand gestures they are using may be a big help, but if your ultimate goal is to understand everything being said, using your ears is a great tool.
One other idea that may be helpful is to have some topics of discussion in mind in advance, and when I say this, I mean beyond the basic introductions. I have fallen into the trap of telling someone the basics of my life (family, friends, job, etc.) and found that suddenly we are faced with awkward silence, as my mind has gone blank. Certainly you don't need to have ground breaking conversations, but being able to discuss likes and dislikes and cultural differences, or what you do on the weekends, or anything that gets you into more interesting conversations will help.
Using a webcam can be scary initially, but once you are into the flow of a conversation, I find you barely notice it is there. Good luck!
Learning: Spanish
Wants to add: Portuguese
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23:56
July 6, 2011
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I prefer using a webcam on Skype, because when I have nothing to say I can just grab a random thing near me, show it on cam, and talk about that. And I just prefer being able to see what person I talk to is doing, how they react to what I say, etc. I hate phone calls.
I'm learning: 
I kind of speak: 
08:40
July 7, 2011
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@Lisa
So do I.
I hate to speak on the phone. I prefer talking to people in real world .. but when I don't have such opportunity I choose video calls in Skype.. it's awesome to see reaction of different people and, of course, it's much more interesting than only one voice. :)
02:03
July 12, 2011
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blueslant said:
I'd like to hear people's suggestions too, because I've also avoided speaking to people via webcam. I'm afraid I'll waste their time.
^ That right there is definitely a big part of my fear. I'm only a beginner, and I think that makes going on Skype that much harder- I'm okay with making mistakes, but I'm afraid I'll make SO many mistakes that they'll just be too frustrated.
@ Lisa and Alexander- I can see why a webcam is great, and I do want to get into the habit of using one. I'd rather talk face-to-face than on the phone too. I'm just having trouble getting started.
I'm thinking the microphone only suggestion might be good, especially for the first few times, because like JWood424 said, it seems like it would alleviate a lot of pressure. That still won't change the fact that I'll be making a ton of mistakes, but it might help a little with the shyness issue.
Thanks for the tips, everybody! Keep them coming!
Learning: (beginner) (intermediate) Current Mission:
06:46
June 29, 2011
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JWood424 said:
One other idea that may be helpful is to have some topics of discussion in mind in advance, and when I say this, I mean beyond the basic introductions. I have fallen into the trap of telling someone the basics of my life (family, friends, job, etc.) and found that suddenly we are faced with awkward silence, as my mind has gone blank. Certainly you don't need to have ground breaking conversations, but being able to discuss likes and dislikes and cultural differences, or what you do on the weekends, or anything that gets you into more interesting conversations will help.
Maybe we ought to start a list of topics to bring up when we can't think of anything else to say… I've done that where I've gone through the basics and then… uh-oh, I have nothing to say now. Some people are great at filling awkward silences to get the conversation going again.
Any ideas for conversation re-starters?
J.
Russian
http://www.polyglottally.com/
10:21
July 5, 2011
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Conversation starters are good but only if you and that other person has mutual interests. Often if they don't know anything about the topic, the conversation dies pretty soon. Context helps, I guess..
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00:20
July 12, 2011
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Polyglottally said:
Any ideas for conversation re-starters?
I think this is a great idea! Aleena, I understand what you mean when you say that you and the other person need to have mutual interests, but there must be some general topics to talk about beyond introductions…
I was thinking sports might be a good idea, if you play any (obviously, if you live in different countries, it may be difficult to talk about specific teams, unless you follow another country's teams). I guess you could talk about literature and things of that nature (I've been reading some Russian novels in English, so this might work for someone like me).
Anybody else have any good ideas?
Learning: (beginner) (intermediate) Current Mission:
01:13
June 29, 2011
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I'm always reminded of Ralph Wiggum on the Simpsons. "So, do you… like… stuff?" That's how I feel.
Russian
http://www.polyglottally.com/
17:16
July 5, 2011
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I did a chat once on skype with a guy from Peru once. But it was awkward.. :/ We didn't have anything to say :O and I felt like I was wasting his time. So and never contacted him again.
Help please!!
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19:29
July 9, 2011
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I'm just imagining a big group conference between all of these people, and theres just ample awkward silence floating about
But seriously, why don't all of you chat together?
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22:26
June 29, 2011
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One interesting idea I tried was using http://www.chatroulette.com. You just click the button and you randomly enounter other people on the webcam, after a while of doing this and making random conversations it seemed to take the edge off talking to others in this way.
Its interesting because the people you encounter on this seem to be most comfortable in their native language and have no intention of learning your language (this happens alot in my experience). So you can take advantage of this situation and speak anything at all in….say…spanish for example…then they reply and the conversation starts to flow. It is alot more comfortable when you're both not focusing on language learning
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