Feeling discourage for my broken English

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Hello everyone, I have been reading all your comments for a while and I have been learning a lot from them, thank you for that. Now I'm begging you for some advice, I'm an immigrant , English is my second language( which I don't speak very well ) . I'm very timid and shy when i have to talk in public. I have this huge barrier in my mind that my English is not good enough; I'm very afraid of the idea that I wll never be able to complete the nursing program , and if I do , will I be able to get a job in a hospital ? Will anybody hire me with my broken English ? . I'm almost finish with all the pre- requisites. I'm getting closer to my dream but I'm the same time getting more petrify . I know have a heavy accent and some time people do not understand what I trying to say, it is so discouraging . I just do not what to do: keep trying or give up because I would kill a patient. Please I need an advice .....please will it be really hard to complete the program ? Some of my friends tell me that I will get used to the same terminology and that is all I need , Is that true?

I have the same problem. English is my first language and Spanish is my second. I have taken Spanish classes in middle school high school and two semesters in collage and always got A's in the class. I still speak in broken Spanish. When we write or do assignments in class we have a lot of time to think of the answers but when we have conversations our thought process needs to be faster. The only advice I have is to speak in English most of the time with friends. I have met people that use English as a second language and they improve significantly because they become friends with people that only know English. When I am around my family on vacation I am forced to speak in Spanish and by the end of the holidays I notice an improvement in my speed and fluency. Unfortunately, I never keep it up and I end up at square one, shy and intimidated. This is a very important skill to have and it is just as important to know as all the other nursing skills you will be mastering. Good luck.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.
Please stop being shy about your english speaking skills. You need to make yourself communicate in english, this is the only way you will improve.

I'm sure you have friends who also need to improve their english speaking skills too. You can help each other by speaking english between you. Try doing this to increase your english speaking confidence. When you go to a store, ask questions in english, make yourself do it. You will really have to force yourself to do this.

Also see if you can find an english as second language class at a college. You will need to build your english reading and writing skills for school and the NCLEX.

I'm an LPN, the aids who work with me are immigrants from all over the world. They all had to learn english and to communicate well with their clients. If they can do it, so can you :)

I agree with all of this. There's absolutely no shame in not being fluent in English, and you need to get out there and practice if you want to get better.

I'm sure I sound terrible when I'm traveling in other countries, trying to learn the language, saying things completely wrong and out of context, but oh well.

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Hi everybody. I know this is an old post but I want to ask for advise. I just started the LPN program in South Florida. I'm getting so discouraging because of my broken english. I can understand most of the class but at the end of the day I feel just that I get so confused with a lot of doubts. I do not know how hard is going to be to finish the program and in the other hand I have issues pronouncing the words even if I know how to spell and the meanings. Sometimes people do not understand what I say. It is so difficult and frustrating. This is the career I wanted to do all my life. I have a bachelor in education ( in my country) and it is not making me proud of what I can do, is just so difficult to try to learn in other language. Anyone of you living the same at school? Can anybody give me an advise how to learn and remember all those medical terms? I'm in the first block of the program and trying to get the best habits of study, I read in high voice, record what I read, take notes, check for misspelling and meanings but I feel that there is so much information missed in my brain. Other thing I am concerning about is when I need to write documents or charts for future patients. Is it difficult? Definitely I need help desperately. This is my second year in USA and I'm still working in my english skills ( Spanish is my first language) Thanks in advance and God bless everybody trying to achieve the nursing dream.

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Broken english? You write pretty well.. look dont get discouraged about your pronunciation I have a bad accent too and I made it through my lpn program .yes its hard but not impossible. keep doing what you are doing if you dont know how to pronounce something google it and youtube it and practice it. im In nj everywhere I go I hear people with different accents so don't worry keep going you will be just fine u can do it ! ???

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Thanks lpn1986 for taking the time to read and response. It encourages me!;)

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Our Pediatricians both have heavy Indian accents. When my dad was in the hospital, his doctor had a heavy African accent. A coworker volunteers at St. Jude because he is from South America and is able to translate Spanish for the Doctors and patients. Just go for you dream, the language thing will work itself out.

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Broken english? You write pretty well.. look dont get discouraged about your pronunciation I have a bad accent too and I made it through my lpn program .yes its hard but not impossible. keep doing what you are doing if you dont know how to pronounce something google it and youtube it and practice it. im In nj everywhere I go I hear people with different accents so don't worry keep going you will be just fine u can do it ! dde0adde0adde0a

I was in NJ once on business. I walked into the hotel gift store to buy a diet coke. They kept the drink cooler behind the counter so I asked the lady for a diet coke. She perked up, started smiling ear to ear and asked me to say that again. So I said "can I get a diet coke" again. Instead of giving me my coke, she called over a coworker and asked me to say it again. I said it again and now they are both giggling at me. Finally she asked if I was from Texas. I told her "no, Mississippi". She said she knew I was southern with my accent.... but she thought I sounded like a Texan. We all had a laugh, I finally got my diet coke and left.

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There are LOTS of people in the college setting that are not native English speakers. If anything, I think that being a native Spanish speaker will make you very desirable in some areas. Your English will improve in time- in the meantime speak it as much as you can and utilize every resource your school has to offer.

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Hello, I am on the same boat, i have one semester left of pre requisites and then I have to take the teas test to get into nusing school, i just had a baby too, he's almost 5 months old, but i am freaking out about nursing school, Spanish is my first language, i understand almost everything but I get so shy when I have to speak it in front of people, i would really appreciate your opinion. ☺

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