How did you get over your fear to speak in English? - Learning From Mistakes

Please give me a hand with my writing.
As a non-native speaker it was really hard to say even few sentences out loud, when I didn't really have the chance to practice it. I was learning English for years in school, and I was still afraid to use it, but probably I am not the only one with this problem. I learned a lot, but my classmates were so good, lot of them studied abroad, or their parents could afford a private teacher, I didn't have this luxury. I had to study hard, and always felt I am in the shadows of the good speakers. After few years it seemed like my hard-work will bear fruit, but I was wrong. My writing was getting better, and I also started to understand my native English-speaking teahcer. Though I wasn't his favourite, when I shut down the teacher just asked the "good speakers". It always frustrated me, when he couldn't wait few seconds or a minute.In the second year in the grammar school we got an American native English-speaking teacher. He didn't really have a favourite and he didn't favour those who didn't study for his lesson, he didn't go on, when he asked me a question, and I shut down, he waited until I gave him an answer. He is a really good teacher and I can thank him a lot that finally my English improved. After that year we got back our previous teacher, and everything went back to normal, and again I was in the shadow of the others, but I knew I can get better. I just studied more at home, and I kept telling myself I can do it, they are not better than me. I started to watch movies and series in English with English subtitle. In the end of the school I was one of the best student, still my English wasn't good enough, but my grades were good, and the teachers saw that I am really a hard-working person. They had to give bad marks for those who didn't study, and lot of times the good English speakers were among them, because they thought they don't have to study new words, but you can never stop learning a language, there are always new words what you should learn.

However after highschool I stoped learning English, and I chose to learn an other language. I just watched movies and series in English, I didn't use it. In the university I had an opportunity to go abroad, and I thought this would really help me. In the begining it was really hard, but after few weeks I got really comfortable using English, because I already had the knowledge I just didn't use it before. I talked in English everyday, and since then I love to talk in English. There was a girl who helped me a lot, and she corrected me, when I made mistakes. I think everybody needs a person like her, I improved so much because of her. I can thank her a lot too.

So my advice to get the courage to use the language firstly is to learn it and doesn't matter what your teachers think, because they just define you for few years, and you don't have stay in the box because they put you in there. I am happy I showed them I am capable of more.Secondly just use it whenever and wherever you can, you don't have to go abroad, there are so many possibilities to practice it with foreing people in every country. Finially the best way to learn your mistake, if somebody corrects you. Ohh and of course series and movies will help a lot.

As a non-native speaker it was really hard to say even few sentences out loud, when I didn't really have had not really had the chance to practice it.

Oh! I see the reason you sometimes were nervous about speaking English. It is because you are a perfectionist! You write with excellent English, and you have a beautiful writing style.

The small errors don't really matter as much as people might think. Your ability to speak English with standard grammar is not a measure of your intelligence. The fact that you speak more than one language is very impressive, and in a globalizing world is more valuable to being multilingual than to no perfect English.

This, below, is a run-on sentence:
... studied abroad, or their parents could afford a private teacher, I didn't have this luxury.
A semicolon works just like a period. Try this:
... studied abroad, or their parents could afford a private teacher; I didn't have this luxury.

I had to study hard, and always felt I am was in the shadows of the good speakers.

Here is another run on sentence:
I think everybody needs a person like her, I improved so much because of her.
You can separated into two sentences, or you can just use a semicolon:
I think everybody needs a person like her; I improved so much because of her.