{"id":1082,"date":"2026-05-26T12:26:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/?p=1082"},"modified":"2026-06-18T15:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:16:29","slug":"the-barriers-to-confidence-in-your-proficiency-in-spoken-hong-kong-english-by-dr-bernie-mak-division-of-arts-and-languages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/blog\/2026\/05\/26\/the-barriers-to-confidence-in-your-proficiency-in-spoken-hong-kong-english-by-dr-bernie-mak-division-of-arts-and-languages\/","title":{"rendered":"The barriers to confidence in your proficiency in spoken (Hong Kong) English — by Dr. Bernie Mak, Division of Arts and Languages"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Keywords:<\/strong> Oral communication, spoken English, confidence, linguistic myths, folk theories, Hong Kong<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accepted:<\/strong> May 18, 2026; Online first:<\/strong> May 26, 2026; Published:<\/strong> July 13, 2026 (TBC)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it is weird and sorry to hear some students whose oral English is good enough worry about their academic performance in my English and linguistics courses. Are they not aware that their spoken English is already above average in the teacher’s eyes? Come on, relax like Rilakkuma. But still, when I recall how I behaved back in secondary school and university, I start to believe that their worries may originate from some myths or folk theories of using English as a second (or foreign) language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to admit that, despite my PhD in Applied English Linguistics, I have never been a fluent English speaker. It has everything to do with my heart and lung problems, which eventually caused me three surgeries around my early 20s. They had not killed me, but they created many disturbances to my inhalation and exhalation (breathing), which indirectly affected my practices of using articulation organs during the critical period for second language learning. People who know me well must know I am even not a fluent speaker in my first language, Hong Kong Cantonese, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owing to this issue, which biologically I was not able to fix, there was a time at which I felt helpless and hopeless at the Department of English of The University of Hong Kong, where every student, literally almost every peer of my time, were great English speakers. The matters triggered by those health disasters utterly ruined my adolescence and the early days of career development. When stepping into my 50s now, however, I look back on all these, and I have a feeling that they should not have been taken that way whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dude, I wish I had another story of learning and practicing English. For whatever reason, I fell into these traps, so that you do not have to \u2013 from now on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. “I needed to learn speaking English happily.”
    <\/strong>This was a joke that had fooled me for almost a decade. Actually, I did not “need” to learn speaking English happily; I just “wanted” to. It may be human nature to have fun when learning a language, but nobody has ever said the learning and practicing process ought to be pleasing. If fun is a prerequisite, it will lead to unnecessary stress and strain at bad times. Classmates laugh at your accent, teachers correct your mistakes in public, and commentators criticize your syllable-timed articulation. While not all of them do it in goodwill, they make you grow and become more and more proficient in speaking English. What truly matters is gaining fulfilment through achievements, not asking for pleasurable experience. Otherwise, you will bend over to stop talking once you feel embarrassed in situated practices. Now, I still apply the most old-school and boring method in speaking English \u2013 drilling for idioms and slang (see Lim et al., 2012), in the washroom or on the bus, in the head or on Quizlet<\/a>.
    <\/li>
  2. “I needed fascinating learning materials.”
    <\/strong>Well-designed learning materials can make learning more comfortable, but they do not necessarily lead you to be a good user of English in the long run (Huang, 2019). I bought a lot of reference books and usage, and guess what, I barely remember any skills or words they once taught me. By contrast, I always remember what I heard and learned from the classic sitcoms like Seinfeld<\/em>, Friends<\/em>, and famous crime dramas like Bones<\/em>, The Blacklist<\/em>. (On a separate note, I did learn a lot of colloquialisms from my idols Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, and Nicolas Cage.) In the long run, developing a habit to learn English speaking through something you will do naturally every day in real life sometimes holds more value than a set of notes or videos that do not really impress you. After all, it is so easy to forget something you simply read, but not quite to something you spiritually experience.
    <\/li>
  3. “Either be a perfect speaker, or be Nobody.”
    <\/strong>My life is far from perfect, but I used to strive for flawless pronunciation in every single word I produced. Whether the setting was a presentation or conversation, I wanted it to be impeccable. The negative outcome was my withdrawal from the assessment or seclusion of interpersonal life. Nevertheless, over time, I understand that perfect speaking is a myth or an unattainable standard that often breeds discontent and hinders progress (cf. Sewell, 2016). What people care about is to get things done in the workplace. It is about achieving transactional or relational goals, not about making yourself a master of ceremonies or talk show host every single time. Now, I focus on giving my best rather than being smart or articulate.
    <\/li>
  4. “I regretted what I said and how I said it.”
    <\/strong>First language learners make mistakes, let alone second language learners. Making mistakes, especially grammatical ones, is part of learning to speak a second language (Guzm\u00e1n-Mu\u00f1oz, 2020). Staying mentally alert of mistakes or dwelling on those you made will not help you become a better speaker. It just makes you anxious and robs you of the opportunities for more practices. Instead of draining your energy by learning correct ways of speaking, ask yourselves in what way you can grow or what you will gain from this conversation. Speakers are not defined by how many words they used correctly, but how many conversational goals they accomplish, especially in professional settings.
    <\/li>
  5. “I fear face loss.”
    <\/strong>I used to be over-concerned about my positive face (Brown & Levinson, 1987) even when I thought I deserved no appreciation at all. The idea of speaking fragmented English like an idiot with breathing problems scared me to my core. Reluctantly, I clung to written English, even when I knew I should speak, rather than write. Face loss can be scary, but it is also transient like appetite loss. All things, honor or loss, huge or small, are temporary in this world. Unless you are a very important person, people will not remember how much face you lost yesterday, but they will remember how much they gain from you the other day. Next time you find yourself consumed by face loss due to a poor performance in a presentation or conversation, take a deep breath and remind yourself: So be it; forget about it.
    <\/li>
  6. “My grammar was bad, especially in oral English.”
    <\/strong>In my quest to be grammatically accurate, I always became tongue-tied, not because I had to search for the right word, but because I had to consider the structure of phrases and clauses. As a throwback to your presentation in your first language: Did you think about grammar when you were on stage? Cognitively, due to limitations of working memory, most second language speakers of English can plan ahead of structure for around seven words only (Biber et al., 2021). Minor grammar flaws are not avoidable, especially in impromptu conversation where you are under pressure to keep talking or avoid unnatural silence. In most contexts, being communicative is more important than being grammatically accurate.
    <\/li>
  7. “Compared to native-English speakers, I am nothing more than a failure.”
    <\/strong>In a multilingual and multicultural metropolis like Hong Kong, it is easy to fall into the comparison trap. We see the highlights of native English speakers and start to feel inferior about our oral English. But remember, it is fallacy to compare L1 and L2 speakers (except for balanced bilinguals or some talented ployglots) as the former acquire the first language unconsciously and effortlessly while the latter need to invest much time and energy to purposefully master a second language. Comparing your oral English to native English speakers’ can cause feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction (Lee, 2005). Occasionally it motivates you to learn, but as an external force it will not last. You never expect an American to speak Cantonese like you, so why would you expect yourselves speak like an American?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The multilingual Internet, along with the AI boom, has render people more aware of small stuff about grammar and pronunciation, revitalizing linguistic purism, which always consumes second language learners\u2019 energy and attention. There are also commentators who believe they are “perfect” speakers of English, despite the fact that theirs remains Hong-Kong-accented and syllable-timed (see Dr. Toni Lam’s paper in volume 3<\/a>). When finalizing this article, I reminisce about my precious days of preparing handouts on the IELTS speaking test with Jessie, who loved Korilakkuma very much. That was always the best time of my life. Out of nowhere, I suddenly realize I am not a young linguist anymore. When I am still alive as a college teacher, in the spirit of knowledge transfer, and a bit of altruism, I summarize the foregoing myths and folk theories that might have deterred you from speaking and practicing English confidently all along. This is for those of us who need refreshing voices to overcome the barriers and let the slide off your shoulders. Remember that feeling bored, making mistakes, and losing face are a natural part of the learning process. Speak up confidently and use English naturally \u2013 even when you are not so sure about every word.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u200bReferences
    <\/strong>Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G. N., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (2021). Grammar of spoken and written English<\/em>. John Benjamins Publishing.
    Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage<\/em>. Cambridge University Press.
    Guzm\u00e1n-Mu\u00f1oz, F. J. (2020). Effects of making errors in learning a foreign language. Journal of Cognitive Psychology<\/em>, 32<\/em>(2), 229\u2013241.
    Huang, P. (2019). Textbook interaction: a study of the language and cultural contextualisation of English learning textbooks. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 21<\/em>, 87-99.
    Lee, J. J. (2005). The native speaker: an achievable model? The Asian EFL Journal, 7<\/em>(2), 152-163.\u200b
    Lim, C. S., Tang, K. N., & Kor, L. K. (2012). Drill and practice in learning (and beyond). In N. M. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the sciences of learning<\/em> (pp.1040-1042). Springer.
    Sewell, A. (2016). English pronunciation models in a globalized world: Accent, acceptability and Hong Kong English<\/em>. Routledge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Keywords: Oral communication, spoken English, confidence, linguistic myths, folk theories, Hong Kong Accepted: May 18, 2026; Online first: May 26, 2026; Published: July 13, 2026 (TBC)...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1082"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1137,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions\/1137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cie.hkbu.edu.hk\/the-punctum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}