Do you ever find yourself happily chatting away in English with friends who share your first language, only to be misunderstood when you speak English with someone with a different first language? The struggle is real, but don’t worry—I’m here to help.🤗
The quirky world of English Communication
Why is a phrase completely clear to one person and a confusing riddle to another?
Because not all errors are created equal. What might seem crystal clear to you and your English learning buddy might leave others scratching their heads in confusion.
You see, talking to a fellow English learner who shares your first language creates more likelihood for clarity because you might say certain phrases the same way because of that shared first language.
Throw in someone with a different linguistic background, and suddenly, they’re confused by your conversation.
The truth is, there are countless variations of English, and that’s perfectly normal that each variation brings its own set of errors and potential misunderstandings. But fear not!
Prepare before confusion hits with these strategies for clear communication
How do you prepare for these inevitable situations involving misunderstandings? Unlike teachers with our language decoders from years of practice picking up on these misunderstandings, most English learners don’t have that superpower (and you don’t need it in order to have enjoyable conversations 😉).
Here’s my surefire strategy to help you. It’s a game of fun misunderstandings that will have you rephrasing your conversation to increase clarity.
Playful Misunderstandings: a fun practice to speak English
Here’s how you can play:
Practice rewording the following statements to make the meaning clearer. Is there anything that might be misunderstood? Rephrase that part to add clarity.
For extra fun, send your ‘Playful Misunderstanding’ text improvements to me directly here on Telegram to @VickieKelty . I can’t wait to hear how you increase the clarity in each one.
Bonus outcome: increase your self-correction skills
Using Playful Misunderstandings not only adds a sprinkle of fun to your English learning, it also expands your ability to self-correct. The more adept you become at expressing yourself in various ways, the smoother your conversations will go with all kinds of English speakers.
Are you ready to make that happen? Let’s welcome these playful misunderstandings and allow more enriching English conversations in.
English learning is about constantly evolving, all of these adventures are an opportunity to learn more and grow.🌟
Want to watch the video version of this blog post? You can find it right here.
