Worrals, the important thing is for you to get your confidence, atcos are only human (well, most of us are
), and we all had to learn at sometime. The suggestion about listening to ATC on an airband is excellent, and it may sound a bit barmy, but why not tape it and listen to it (when no one can see you!), and try and come up with the response that you would give to the atco.
I'm far from perfect, but any Atco who loses their patience with someone who is in your position should be ashamed of themselves, and is failing in the basic principals of providing an atc service. If I'm busy and confronted with someone who's lacking confidence, I'll often not speak to them until I get the opportunity to give them my undivided attention and ensure that they understand what is required etc.
Visiting an atc unit is a good idea, I'm more than happy for any pilot to sit with me for a few hours if it helps them understand what is going on and gives them the confidence to get along with the R/T.
Remember, you can always ask the atco to repeat their message, I'd rather you asked 5 times to understand something than blunder on blindly.
