![\""Embarrassment](\"https:\/\/blogs.reed.edu\/langlabbies\/files\/2026\/03\/image-2.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nEmbarrassment is different from anxiety, since they happen at different points in time. Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension before<\/em> a situation because it\u2019s impossible to know what will happen when it happens. Raising my hand in class can be anxiety-inducing because I don\u2019t know how others will react to what I will say. By contrast, embarrassment is a feeling that is experienced during a situation or afterward when we process it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers found that language students experienced embarrassment in four categories: Situation, Social Comparison, Interpersonal Behavior, and Competence. Let me explain below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottom line of the study is that teachers and peers have a responsibility to create psychological safety in the classroom. Students should be allowed and encouraged to make mistakes and take risks in the classroom without being afraid that they will be treated negatively by their teachers and peers. Here at Reed, we owe that to each other! Making our classrooms psychologically safe for others then makes it psychologically safe for ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, the researchers mention that there is potential for embarrassment to be beneficial in the classroom. We often feel embarrassment in negative situations (\u201cThey\u2019re judging me!\u201d), but never in a positive context. This could look like taking risks to try something new and having confidence in our everyday actions. Embarrassment is, of course, a natural human emotion\u2014it makes sense why we value others\u2019 opinions so much! But it\u2019s just as important to understand that embarrassment doesn\u2019t need to control our lives. When learning a language, it\u2019s inevitable that we will pronounce something wrong, use the wrong word, or misunderstand what someone else is saying. But who cares! That\u2019s part of learning, and can only lead to more understanding between ourselves and others. Feeling embarrassment means that we\u2019re concerned for others\u2019 feelings and that we\u2019re doing something outside our comfort zone. The point isn\u2019t to be immune from embarrassment. But we should be proud of ourselves when we feel it, and maybe seek out situations that intentionally embarrass us. You never know where it could take you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khajavy, Gholam Hassan et al. \u201cEmbarrassment in English Language Classrooms: Conceptualization, Antecedents, and Consequences.\u201d Studies in Second Language Acquisition<\/em> 47.1 (2025): 181\u2013204. Web.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do you find learning a language to be embarrassing? It\u2019s a very normal human emotion, but embarrassment seems to be worse than death for some. Just thinking about embarrassment makes me feel embarrassed! So why do we feel embarrassed when we learn languages, and what can be done about it? I read a paper titled … <\/p>\n\n