The Huffington Post – Steve Kaufmann 
Making mistakes when speaking or writing a new language is not the same as making other kinds of mistakes, at least not to me. Making mistakes in language learning is not only necessary, it is a good sign. If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough to use the language. If you are trying to master a new language, there are certain things that you are not going to remember or get right until your brain is ready. All you can do is continue to use the language as much as possible: to read, to listen, to speak and to write. Eventually that elusive word or that difficult phrase will become natural.(more)