3 ms·

People who have never learned a second language often have mind blindless of how difficult it is. Speaking slower, not using advanced idioms, avoiding ambiguous

People who have never learned a second language often have mind blindless of how difficult it is. Speaking slower, not using advanced idioms, avoiding ambiguous expressions like "I'm good" could make a world of difference but I rarely see people do it.

emj 5y ago
I've learnt several international languages, and what you describe is very hard for me. I'm guessing there is an built in arrogance in my mind that "everyone should understand me", I do make an effort. One thing that makes it harder is the taboo of seeming studpid, and hurting my feelings. So while I do want to agree that I am better at communicating it is not a given, the give and take of communicating is not only about languages and I've met some excellent one-language communicators. Arrogance sucks, just trying to be humble is not enough for me to shake it.
wjholden 5y ago
Something I find useful is to explicitly separate thoughts into small sentences. "Bonjour. Parlez-vous anglais?" "Yes, a little bit." "Hello. I need a passport photo. The photo is for a USA passport. The USA passport photo is a different size from the European size. The size for the USA passport photo is 2 inches by 2 inches." I live in a Francophone region and speak like this to the locals all the time. Taking short pauses between sentences also helps.
- throwaway2037 5y ago
  This is a good example. I never saw it written about so directly: Short, simple sentences, with small pauses between. It is a very good idea. When I get stuck speaking with non-natives in my own language or another, I repeat the sentence but use synonyms where possible. That also helps sometimes. Depending upon the local culture, it may be acceptable to "gently" mix languages. Example: Maybe you can say part of what you need in French, and part in English. When I say something in English, then try to repeat another language (or vice versa), the non-native listener is much more likely to understand me.

emj 5y ago

I've learnt several international languages, and what you describe is very hard for me. I'm guessing there is an built in arrogance in my mind that "everyone should understand me", I do make an effort. One thing that makes it harder is the taboo of seeming studpid, and hurting my feelings. So while I do want to agree that I am better at communicating it is not a given, the give and take of communicating is not only about languages and I've met some excellent one-language communicators. Arrogance sucks, just trying to be humble is not enough for me to shake it.

wjholden 5y ago

Something I find useful is to explicitly separate thoughts into small sentences. "Bonjour. Parlez-vous anglais?" "Yes, a little bit." "Hello. I need a passport photo. The photo is for a USA passport. The USA passport photo is a different size from the European size. The size for the USA passport photo is 2 inches by 2 inches." I live in a Francophone region and speak like this to the locals all the time. Taking short pauses between sentences also helps.

throwaway2037 5y ago
This is a good example. I never saw it written about so directly: Short, simple sentences, with small pauses between. It is a very good idea. When I get stuck speaking with non-natives in my own language or another, I repeat the sentence but use synonyms where possible. That also helps sometimes. Depending upon the local culture, it may be acceptable to "gently" mix languages. Example: Maybe you can say part of what you need in French, and part in English. When I say something in English, then try to repeat another language (or vice versa), the non-native listener is much more likely to understand me.