Doing Things Badly

Growing up I remember hearing the phrase, "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well." I'm sure this has a place but I am also learning to do things badly. One of my language learning books assures me that "the only normal way to begin speaking in a new language is to begin speaking badly!!!"

I would love to speak in full sentences with correct grammar and perfect pronunciation. But I'd rather speak a little bit and speak badly rather than being too scared to say anything at all. (Besides- how often do I speak full sentences in English with perfect grammar and pronuncation?) My friend Steve taught a Khmer friend of his a phrase to use when someone is being too tentative. I think this is very useful for me to remember at this stage of learning to speak Khmer - "ave a go ya mug!"