Have you ever felt like the more you learn, the worse you seem to get? You’re not alone. Many of my students, especially those at the B1 level, start their English courses or their French lessons with high confidence. They speak with ease, without hesitating too much, and they don’t let mistakes slow them down.
But something interesting happens as the course progresses. Their confidence drops. They suddenly feel unsure about their grammar, they hesitate before speaking, and they start noticing mistakes they never realized they made before. This can be frustrating, but here’s the good news: this drop in confidence is actually a sign of real progress.
Why You Feel Less Confident as You Improve
At the start of your learning journey, you’re blissfully unaware of many of your mistakes. Your brain isn’t filtering every sentence for grammar accuracy or precise vocabulary—it’s just focused on getting words out. This “ignorance is bliss” stage makes speaking feel easy.
But as you improve, you start to notice your mistakes. You become aware of grammar rules, word choices, and pronunciation differences that you might not have thought about before. And this awareness can feel overwhelming. It might even make you doubt yourself.
But here’s the key takeaway: just because you feel less confident doesn’t mean you are worse at English or French. In fact, you’re getting better.
The Awareness Stage: A Sign of Growth
Think of learning a language like learning to drive. At first, a beginner might feel confident just steering a car, pressing the gas, and moving forward. But once they start actively learning, they realize there’s much more to consider—checking mirrors, watching speed, using turn signals, reacting to other drivers.
Suddenly, they don’t feel as confident anymore. But are they worse drivers? No. They’re just more aware of what good driving actually requires.
The same is true for language learning. When you start recognizing your mistakes, it means you’ve entered the next stage of development. Awareness is not failure. It’s growth.
Communicating Better vs. Feeling Worse
One of the biggest mistakes students make is assuming that confidence = good communication and doubt = bad communication. But here’s the truth: even if you feel less confident, your communication is actually improving.
You’re choosing words more carefully instead of just using whatever comes to mind.
You’re noticing when sentences sound unnatural and adjusting them.
You’re understanding grammar structures better, even if you don’t always get them right.
Before, you might have spoken without hesitation, but now you are communicating with more accuracy and effectiveness. That is real progress.
Embracing the Learning Process
If you ever feel like you’re getting worse at English or French, remind yourself:
Awareness leads to improvement. The fact that you notice mistakes means you are learning.
Confidence will return. Over time, your brain will adjust, and you’ll speak naturally again—this time with better accuracy.
Focus on communication, not perfection. The goal is to express ideas clearly, not to speak without any mistakes.
Final Thought: Keep Going
Feeling less confident is not a sign of failure—it’s a sign that you’re pushing yourself to grow. If you’re experiencing this, congratulations! It means you’re on the right path. Keep learning, keep speaking, and trust that the confidence will return—this time, built on real skill and understanding.
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