As tourism is the primary industry in Mallorca, young people are learning languages to increase their career opportunities when they leave school. For that reason, English and German are the second languages on the curriculum. Over the past decade I have seen the demand for German rise exponentially. As Germans are the majority purchasers of property here, Mallorquins have been obliged to learn and speak German proficiently.
The need for Spanish is noticeably on the rise as well as British and Irish ex-pats relocate and establish their families here. Although Catalan is compulsory in schools, Castellano remains the primary language. To help ex-pats integrate into society, learning Spanish is a more favourable option for them.
Whatever language you are studying communication is key. It is not solely a question of learning all the irregular verbs by heart but also being able to put them into a meaningful sentence. Learning a language with a native also has its pride of place. You get to hear the real pronunciation, pick up idiomatic phrases and slang that are typical to the country in question.
Being a learner and teacher of various languages myself, I understand the difficulty of not being able to let go of that innate shyness and say the phrase aloud that you have translated so assiduously in your brain. You have that fear of feeling stupid and prefer to stay stumm. You need to convince yourself that even though you may sound clumsy natives know that you are trying your best and will be only too happy to help you along.
Bear in mind also that there is a certain amount of humility you need when learning a language. Be prepared to be corrected! It is true that nobody likes to be told that they have made a mistake and may block off from listening. In that case, it will be hard to advance. Language is not a science. There are no exact formulas you can learn to speak perfectly. It is rather an art with all its creative nuances, hidden meanings, and idiosyncrasies.
You can feel elated that you are learning something new, but it can also break your heart when you fail that much coveted exam you have been studying so hard for. Sometimes you feel you are on a pendulum where you see yourself advancing and then suddenly, a misunderstood phrasal verb brings you crashing down. You berate yourself for not knowing it and that is when you begin to lose confidence in yourself.
But never feel discouraged! Believe you are always advancing and listen to a native correcting you and intend to assimilate that correction. Little by little you will lose that fear of speaking and let go. That is when you begin to see real progress.