The Boy Who Was Afraid to Speak
There was a sixteen-year-old boy named Arjun.
Arjun was a quiet and intelligent boy.
He loved reading books.
He enjoyed watching English movies.
He could understand many English words.
He could even write good sentences.
But there was one thing he could not do.
He was afraid to speak English.
Whenever someone spoke English to him, he became nervous.
His heart started beating faster.
His hands became cold.
He knew the answer in his mind, but the words did not come out.
One Monday morning, Arjun went to school.
His English teacher, Mrs. Wilson, entered the classroom.
“Good morning, everyone!”
“Good morning, ma’am!” the students replied.
Mrs. Wilson smiled.
“Today, we are going to do something different.”
The students looked curious.
“We are going to speak only English for the next thirty minutes.”
Some students became excited.
Others looked worried.
Arjun looked down at his desk.
Mrs. Wilson noticed him.
“Arjun, can you tell us about your weekend?”
Arjun became nervous.
He knew what he wanted to say.
He had visited his uncle.
He had played cricket.
He had watched a movie.
But he couldn't speak.
“Arjun?”
He slowly stood up.
“I... I...”
The classroom became quiet.
Arjun looked at his classmates.
Some students were waiting.
One student laughed.
Arjun sat down.
Mrs. Wilson looked at the student who laughed.
“Everyone makes mistakes while learning.”
Then she looked at Arjun.
“It's okay, Arjun. You can try again tomorrow.”
Arjun nodded.
But he felt embarrassed.
After school, he walked home quietly.
His older sister, Riya, noticed that something was wrong.
“Arjun, why are you so quiet?”
“Nothing.”
“Something happened at school.”
Arjun sat on the sofa.
“My teacher asked me to speak English.”
“And?”
“I couldn't speak.”
Riya smiled.
“That's all?”
“You don't understand. Everyone was looking at me.”
“So?”
“I was afraid they would laugh.”
Riya sat beside him.
“Arjun, do you know how I learned to ride a bicycle?”
“You practiced.”
“Exactly.”
“But speaking English is different.”
“No, it isn't.”
Riya continued,
“When you first ride a bicycle, you fall.”
“Yes.”
“Do you stop forever?”
“No.”
“You try again.”
Arjun smiled.
“Yes.”
“Speaking English is the same. You will make mistakes. You will feel uncomfortable. But if you keep practicing, you will improve.”
Arjun thought about her words.
Then Riya gave him a small notebook.
“Write five English sentences in this notebook every day.”
“Only five?”
“Yes. But there is one rule.”
“What rule?”
“You must speak those five sentences aloud.”
Arjun agreed.
The next morning, he opened the notebook.
He wrote:
My name is Arjun.
I live with my family.
I like cricket.
I enjoy reading books.
I want to improve my English.
He read them aloud.
“My name is Arjun.”
His voice sounded strange to him.
He tried again.
“My name is Arjun.”
This time, he spoke louder.
For the next seven days, Arjun followed his sister's advice.
Every morning, he spoke five sentences.
On the first day, he was nervous.
On the second day, he was slightly better.
On the third day, he spoke more clearly.
By the seventh day, he could speak for two minutes without stopping.
But he still made mistakes.
One evening, he told Riya,
“I said, ‘He go to school.’”
Riya smiled.
“That's okay.”
“What should I say?”
“‘He goes to school.’”
Arjun repeated it.
“He goes to school.”
“Good.”
“Will I always make mistakes?”
“Of course.”
“Even you?”
Riya laughed.
“Yes. Everyone makes mistakes.”
The following Monday, Arjun returned to school.
Mrs. Wilson entered the classroom.
“Good morning, everyone.”
The students replied,
“Good morning, ma’am!”
She looked at the class.
“Who would like to speak for two minutes?”
Nobody raised a hand.
Then Arjun slowly raised his hand.
Mrs. Wilson smiled.
“Arjun?”
Arjun stood up.
His heart was beating quickly.
But this time, he took a deep breath.
“My name is Arjun.”
He paused.
“I like playing cricket.”
He continued.
“I usually play cricket with my friends after school.”
His voice was a little shaky.
But he kept going.
“I also like reading books. My favorite books are adventure stories.”
He made a grammar mistake.
He stopped.
Then he corrected himself.
“My favorite books are adventure stories.”
Mrs. Wilson smiled.
Arjun continued.
“I want to improve my English because I want to speak confidently.”
He finished.
The classroom was quiet for a moment.
Then everyone clapped.
Arjun smiled.
It was not a perfect speech.
But he had done something important.
He had spoken.
After class, one of his classmates, Kabir, came to him.
“You spoke really well.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“I made some mistakes.”
“So did I when I spoke last week.”
Arjun laughed.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
Kabir smiled.
“Because I was afraid too.”
Arjun suddenly understood something.
He had thought everyone was judging him.
But many students were actually afraid of making mistakes themselves.
A few weeks later, Mrs. Wilson announced a school event.
It was called:
“Speak with Confidence.”
Each student had to give a five-minute speech.
Arjun immediately became nervous.
Five minutes?
That was much longer than two minutes.
He wanted to say no.
But then he remembered his sister's words.
“You will make mistakes. Keep practicing.”
So he decided to participate.
Every evening, he practiced.
He stood in front of a mirror.
He practiced in front of Riya.
He practiced with his friends.
Sometimes he forgot his words.
Sometimes he spoke too fast.
Sometimes he laughed at his own mistakes.
But he continued.
One evening, Riya said,
“Don't try to memorize every word.”
“Why?”
“Because if you forget one sentence, you may forget everything.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Remember the main ideas.”
Arjun understood.
He prepared five simple points.
My family.
My school.
My hobbies.
My English-learning journey.
My dream.
The day of the event arrived.
The school hall was full of students, teachers, and parents.
Arjun sat in the second row.
His name was number eight.
One student went on stage.
Then another.
Then another.
Finally, the teacher said,
“Next, we have Arjun.”
Arjun stood up.
His legs felt weak.
He walked to the stage.
He looked at the audience.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
Then he remembered something.
He took a deep breath.
He smiled.
And he started.
“Good morning, everyone.”
His voice was clear.
“My name is Arjun, and today I want to talk about something I was afraid of.”
He paused.
“Speaking English.”
The audience listened carefully.
“I used to think that I needed perfect English before I could speak.”
He shook his head.
“But I was wrong.”
“You don't need perfect English to start speaking.”
“You need courage to make mistakes.”
The audience became very quiet.
Arjun continued.
“When I started practicing, I made many mistakes.”
“I used the wrong words.”
“I forgot sentences.”
“Sometimes I even forgot what I wanted to say.”
The audience laughed gently.
Arjun smiled.
“But I didn't stop.”
“I practiced every day.”
“And slowly, I became better.”
He looked at his English teacher.
“Today, I still make mistakes.”
Mrs. Wilson smiled.
“But now I am not afraid of them.”
Arjun finished his speech.
“Thank you for listening.”
The audience clapped loudly.
Arjun walked back to his seat.
His hands were still shaking.
But he was smiling.
After the event, Mrs. Wilson came to him.
“You did very well.”
“Thank you, ma'am.”
“Do you know what made your speech special?”
Arjun thought for a moment.
“My English?”
Mrs. Wilson smiled.
“No.”
“Your confidence?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what?”
“Your honesty.”
She continued,
“You didn't pretend to be perfect. You talked about your mistakes and what you learned from them.”
Arjun smiled.
That evening, he returned home.
Riya was waiting for him.
“So, how was it?”
Arjun smiled.
“I spoke for five minutes.”
“Without stopping?”
“Almost.”
Riya laughed.
“Did you make mistakes?”
“Yes.”
“Were you afraid?”
“Yes.”
“But did you speak?”
Arjun smiled.
“Yes.”
Riya gave him a high five.
“Then you succeeded.”
Arjun looked at his little notebook.
It was almost full.
He opened the first page.
There were his five simple sentences from the first day.
My name is Arjun.
I live with my family.
I like cricket.
I enjoy reading books.
I want to improve my English.
He smiled.
Those five sentences had changed something inside him.
Not because they were difficult.
They weren't.
But because they had helped him take his first step.
Arjun closed the notebook.
He knew his English journey was not finished.
There were still thousands of words to learn.
There were still grammar rules to understand.
There were still mistakes to make.
But now he knew something important:
You don't become confident before you practice.
You become confident because you practice.
And from that day forward, Arjun never waited for perfect English.
He simply opened his mouth, spoke, made mistakes, learned, and tried again.
Moral of the Story
Don't wait until your English is perfect before you start speaking.
Speak today.
Make mistakes.
Learn from them.
Try again tomorrow.
Because confidence does not come from being perfect. Confidence comes from practice.
Useful English Expressions
1. Something happened.
Used when you want to say that an event occurred.
2. Don't worry.
Used to comfort someone.
3. It's okay.
Used when something is not a serious problem.
4. Keep practicing.
Continue practicing.
5. Take a deep breath.
Breathe in slowly and deeply, especially when you feel nervous.
6. I am afraid of making mistakes.
Used when you feel nervous about doing something incorrectly.
7. I want to improve my English.
A useful sentence for every English learner.
8. I still make mistakes.
Used to accept that learning takes time.
9. Don't give up.
Continue even when something is difficult.
10. I will try again.
A powerful sentence for learning anything new.
English Practice
After listening to the story, try answering these questions aloud:
Why was Arjun afraid to speak English?
Who helped him?
What did Riya ask him to do every day?
What happened when Arjun spoke in class?
Why did Arjun become more confident?
What did he learn about making mistakes?
What are you afraid of when speaking English?
What will you practice today?
Remember:
Speak a little every day.
Make a few mistakes.
Learn something new.
And never stop trying.
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