Why can't Americans speak/write English properly?
I agree. I believe it comes from the inherent laziness of people and their lack of desire to read real books. The level of reading comprehension is deplorable in this country. I teach students who are currently juniors or seniors and some have NEVER read a book from cover to cover. Good sentence structure and accurate spelling comes in large measure from reading a lot. No reading--no spelling or grammatical syntax awareness. I think the moronic comment of Bazaar above my response is a splendid example of what happens when people are too dumb to understand proper grammar with subject-verb agreement.
Is it rude to speak a different language when a non-speaker is present?
Generally speaking, yes, it is rude. If there is a diverse group of people who speak a range of different languages, it is best to communicate with each other in a language that everybody has in common. That’s the best way to insure everybody feels included. If they choose to communicate in a language that some people in the group do not understand, then they’re suggesting that it’s not important for those people to be part of the conversation. That’s not very nice.However, your group is comprised like this: 60% of the people are native speakers of the language in question. Almost 40% of the rest of the group are not native speakers, but are willing to learn.Then there’s you. You’re not a native speaker, and you’re not willing to learn. From what I’ve read in your details, it’s not that you aren’t capable of learning. You just aren’t willing. You have the opportunity to learn a new language and make it easier for 60% of the group to communicate with you, but basically, you just don’t feel like it. Hate to say it, but that makes you the odd man out. Everybody but you is willing to make the effort.I understand that you don’t feel included, and I know that feels bad. But you played a part in that. If it’s important to you to be a part of this group, consider changing your stance on learning their native language.Meanwhile, if it makes you feel uncomfortable when they switch to the other language, you are free to express that to them. You may also want to simply say “I’m sorry, but I didn’t understand that last bit. Can you tell me what you were just talking about?” You’ll probably find that they are willing to clue you back in.Good luck!
When visiting a country where you don't speak the language, what is the proper etiquette when interacting with people from the service industry (e.g. waiters, cashiers, hotel clerks, etc.)?
My experience in western Europe has mostly been that people speak English. It is the international language of tourism. This will be true in most major hotels and in places that specifically cater to tourists.Do not just go up to people and start speaking English. Ask first. It is polite. When they do not speak English, learn the phrase, "I am sorry. I do not speak ____." in the language. Be polite. Look kind. Use hand gestures, and write things down. Be patient. Be willing to accept mistakes. You're not going to be able to engage in much small talk and culturally, it will not be expected so, "My name is..." and "How are you?" might be nice to have to show broader interest, but they won't help much.In certain situations, it probably won't come up and you can get away without knowing any of the language. Bathroom signs are universal. (Though not always. I was at an Italian restaurant in Spain with the names in Italian and no symbols.) No smoking signs are pretty universal. You can go to McDonalds, Burger King and Starbucks and pretty much order the same way you would in English.It can be useful to develop a list of basic words that may come in handy. "bag" as in plastic shopping bag after you buy things? That word for me is right up there with the phrase, "Do you speak English?" Other handy words are coffee, tea, chicken, beef, pork, fish, salt, fork, napkin, water, bathroom, left, right, straight, "How much does it cost?", "I'm sorry/Pardon me" and "I don't understand." I print word lists of the major foods and tourist words, and put them with my travel documents to study while in transit. Very handy for passive recall, even if it doesn't help in active recall to actually speak them.Google translate does not solve your problems because Google translate is often wrong. It also slows communication down and should only be used in an emergency.How hard or easy is it to get by in Spain with speaking only English? is a more comprehensive answer specific to Spain.
I understand English, but I can't speak it well. Why?
1.You will have to write at the very least three essays per day. Your goal is to write 500 words during 30 minutes.You will want to read the New York times in order to learn some academic English verbs which may help you improve your writing skills. You can find a teacher who will be able to make some correction for your essays by using the internet.I have been able to boost my writing skills by collaborating with a teacher through the internet. These days, I still want to continue cultivating my writing skills.2.You will need to enhance your oral skills.If you have no the opportunity to talk to one in English, you will be able to find a large number of simple questions that student use in order to prepare themselves to take the TOEFL exam by utilizing the internet. These questions are available on the internet.Your goal is to complete your answer to a question in 45 seconds. It means that you need to create the introduction of your speech by mentioning the main thesis , two supporting arguments , and the inference. I have improved my oral skills by talking to myself. Do not forget to set a timer up by using an online watch. In addition, you can use your own mirror reflection as an excellent listener. I do so though I have the opportunity to speak English within my everyday life.Most importantly, you will need to start talking to yourself privately in English rather than asking and talking to yourself by using your first language. In doing so, you will be better than the best. I believe in you.3.You will want to listen to different types of conversations as well as audio books. I would highly recommend you to start watching TED programs or Nova documentary.4.You will need to continue enhancing your reading skills as well.Taking everything into account, you need to become aware that cultivating writing, reading, oral, and listening skills helps you start thinking in English.There is nothing more important than making time in your day for practice learning the English language.I have been learning English for two years, and I do know that I will be learning this language during my lifetime since learning has no end:)Good luck to you.
It's hard for me to make proper English sentences, what is the best way to improve English speaking skills?
When speaking English, it's really hard for me to make proper sentences. I cannot express for the life of me, what I really want to say, without taking a really unnecassry long time. Just making this question is hard enough! What goes in my mind whenever I'm speaking English: - "how the **** do I say it?" (pardon my French but I'm so sick and tired of this that I swear alot in my mind, it somewhat comforts me) - "did I make any grammar mistakes there?" - "did I pronounce it correctly?" I could watch English films without subtitles just fine. I could understand them clearly. So why I struggle making the sentences myself?? My best guess is living in a non English speaking country is the main cause. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to just go and live in an English speaking country or even take vacations there. I wish I could because I've heard from many people, that it's the fastest and most efficient way to improve English speaking and listening skills.
How do you go about learning a language that is not your native tongue? I'm from the U.S. so I direct this question to citizens of other countries.
Hi. I am also originally from the U.S., but I moved on long ago. I have learned German, Russsian, Latin, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian, so I have experience with the issue that interests you. Here is my advice in brief form.Make sure that you understand English grammar. Not the normative ”Don’t say or write that.” stuff, but the mechanics of the language. What auxiliaries are, how sentences are negated, why the plural marker spelled s is pronounced differently in cats, dogs, and horses. You need this type of information in order to be able to approach another language rationallyTake a course in or read a good textbook on articulatory phonetics. Unless you have extraordinary imitative capabilities, you will never learn how to pronounce or hear a foreign language properly if you do not understand how speech shounds are produced and interact with each other.Concentrate on learning short sentences, not words. The grammar os a language is a device for producing and understanding sentences. Learn and practice one short sentence every day for a month. That will get you further than learning a thousand foreign voabulary items, since you cannot use foreign words if you do not understand what happens to them within the context of foreign sentences.Remember that some languages are closely related, and use this to your advantage. If you want to learn German, why not learn Dutch as well? If you want to learn Finnish, learn Estonian as well. In these and other language pairs, one of the paired languages is more conservative than the other in some, but not all, respects. Dutch is phonologically more conservative than German, but German is morphologically more conservative than Dutch. This knowledge can help you master both languages if you are able to exploit it.Have clear objectives. Don’t learn a language just because you have nothing better to do with your time. The desire to understand a film or play in its original, to visit some historical site and interact with locals, or to gain the type of understanding of historical events such as the Holocaust or the collapse of the Soviet Union that only a command of the language in which they took place can give will provide you with motivation, a major factor in successful language learning.Good luck!
When I try to speak English, words don't come out right. How can I speak fluent English?
Most likely you are afraid of making a mistake.I suffered the same in learning Spanish, and I see it as one of the greatest obstacles for my English students. One of my students recently told me he was in a store and wanted to ask in English, "What is the price of this item?" He planned it out perfectly in his mind, walked up to the attendent, and said "wutprsths?" When the attendent (obviously) did not understand, so my student just said "price," and got the answer he needed.Often we may say "I don't mind making mistakes, I know no one is going to throw tomatoes at me" but deep inside we feel that it is something terrible to speak poorly, and so are terrified of saying something wrong. As a result we overthink what we are trying to say, analyzing the grammar and syntax instead of just pouring forth concepts. This makes speaking very awkward. This can even happen when you are alone, speaking to yourself, because you constantly doubt if what you said is correct (I speak from experience)!Polygot Sid Efromovich points out that we are trained from youth to shun the feeling of having done something wrong, but in learning languages we must seek it, because that means we are crossing into new territory and learning. (See the video below, 29:00)When you are writing you can take time to think about how words should be organized - you cannot while speaking. So you just have to go for it. Spit the words out, and if they are wrong, that's OK. One successful English learner told me that making mistakes was the best learning tool, because he was so embarrased he remembered the correction!From my own experience and research and watching others, I believe the only solution to your problem is to listen to and speak a lot of English. It has to be a natural process that you don't think about, which will only come with lots of practice - as with any skill, from baseball to piano playing to speaking.