This is completely out of the blue. Go elsewhere for current events ktx.
I recently noticed how people sound when they’re talking to foreigners with sketchy English: about the same way spacemen sound when they tell aliens they come in peace.
Over the summer, a few Japanese students stayed over at my mom’s house for a few weeks at a time. Just like all students in Japan, they have an English class, and they yearn to understand and speak it well – but how are any of them going to understand if someone speaks like a caveman?
I’ve seen people try to communicate with them, saying something along the lines of, “Tanaka, we go, mall. Come to eat – food – with us. We go *walking motions with arms* car and drive. You want – come?”
Okay, sure, MAYBE they’d be able to understand that, but who the hell WANTS to? Wouldn’t it be slightly more helpful if it were something like “Tanaka, we are going to the mall. We are going to eat. We’re going in the car. Do you want to come with us?” It still sounds unnatural, it’s not like anyone would really put that much detail into an offer, but spoken smoothly and clearly, I’d be surprised if any English student wouldn’t be able to understand it. And unlike the former statement, they’d probably learn some English.
‘Course, sooner or later, you’d probably be able to ask them stuff like this the way anyone else would – “wannagoamall?” – but hey, slow down, these people are learning English.
It’s a good point. But look at it from the other way. Whenever I get the courage to speak to someone who speaks fluent Spanish .. in Spanish.. they usually answer with a huge complex sentence I can’t understand. So maybe the caveman talk is neccessary when conversing with them. They can listen to our regular conversations otherwise.
Eh. I think someone who knows you’re learning Spanish would be able to tone their speech down to a premier level.
But there is a difference between speaking slowly and speaking horribly. Try slowing down your words and sentances. Proper grammar should still apply. Then if after a couple tries of that,thats when you should try to simplify it into singular words.
People learn much better when spoken to,not when listening to other peoples conversations. As far as when your talking to a fluent spanish speaker, just ask them to slow it down, and your likelihood of understanding the sentance goes wayyy up. You can infer what certain words mean based on context, as can they.
i noticed this when i was in osaka for the international lions’ convention. some people can’t seem to grasp the fact that not fully understanding english isn’t the same thing as being mentally handicapped.
aren’t exchange students required to take a certain amount of english classes before coming here, anyway? just because someone has a thick accent and iffy grammar, that doesn’t mean they don’t understand what you’re saying. well…blah. =\
It’s a good idea to speak more slowly. It’s also a good idea to actually speak english.