Recording their speeches helped the students become less self-conscious and more confident.

self-conscious 是由 self（自我）和 conscious（有意识的）组成的复合形容词。self 表示"自己、自我"，conscious 表示"有意识的、察觉的"。 self-conscious 指"过分在意自己言行举止的"，常带有紧张或尴尬的意味，可以理解为"害羞的、不自在的"或"过度自我关注的"。