When I was in the military I was a guide in the 3rd Invasion Tunnel.  More than 3000 people came to visit the tunnel a day.  Among the visitors there were many foreigners. Most of the foreigners used English for conversation.  When I was a private I didn't know how to explain the tunnel and how to talk with them in English.  I had many problems to talk with foreigners such as lack of grammatical knowledge, poor English speaking, pronunciation and so on.  I didn't know how to speak English and didn't know if the grammar was right.  I had to ask them to speak slowly.  I had been learning English for more than 10 years, but my middle and high school English teachers only taught me grammar.  I had little chance to learn how to speak English.  I should have learned English for conversation.
        The biggest problem was that I did not have the courage to talk with foreigners.  It is my belief that courage is the most important thing for English (or foreign)  language learners.  It was very hard for me to have courage.  So I tried to talk with foreigners many times. I had to devolp the courage to talk with foreigners. At first I spoke English in words, not sentences.  I studied good English expressions to make sentences, so I had to listen carefully to what the visitors said.  Gradually I understood what the visitors asked and I could answer their questions.  At that time my fellow soldiers who had been in the U. S. A. for more than 10 years helped me in many ways.  They were good English teachers to me. They taught me how to speak English with foreigners.  Everyday I talked with foreign visitors.  At first I was afraid when foreign visitors asked questions because I was not good at listening to English. But later I could understand what they were saying.  I developed confidence gradually, and I became interested in English.  When I was a  corporal I was not afraid of talking with foreigners although I was not a good English speaker.
        But after I finished my military service, I did not have a chance to use English for a year. After I came back to my university I could not express my opinion in English, and I was often afraid of talking with foreigners.  So I lost my confidence and interest a little.  This semester I have six classes in which teachers are native speakers of English.  I think this is the best way for me to have courage.  If I have a lot of chances to meet foreigners and try to speak English, I will have the courage to speak in English and develop my English speaking ability.
        There are many important factors in learning a foreign language, such as speaking, listening, grammar and so on, but I believe that the most important factor for language learners is courage.  If English learners want to be good English speakers, they must have courage.