Episode 221
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Read the Transcript
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Hi, everyone! I'm Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com.
My mission is to help you speak English fluently.
Awesome! Let's get started!
Very often, I hear people speaking English with a strong accent. That's because their native language sometimes has a strong influence on the way they speak English.
Have you ever traveled to another country and tried to speak their language?
Then you're probably aware that some locals experienced difficulties understanding you and that not everybody was patient. Some people got very impatient and sometimes even rude.
That's why you should be patient and encouraging whenever you talk to people with a strong accent because they are usually aware that you may have difficulty understanding them.
Therefore, be honest with your conversation partner. Don't pretend you understand the person if you can't comprehend what they are saying.
And don't be afraid to hurt the other person's feelings. Being honest doesn't necessarily make you rude.
Instead, use a polite phrase to say that you have some difficulty understanding.
Ask the other person to speak more slowly. Say something like this:
"I'm sorry, but I'm having some difficulties understanding you." or "Can you please speak a bit more slowly?"
Don't try to understand every single word. Instead, make an effort to grasp the overall meaning. This way, you will be able to participate in the conversation.
You'll need to relax, listen to meaningful words, and observe as a listener. Use as many contextual clues as possible.
Listen very carefully to give all the feedback you can to the speaker.
Use your facial expressions to give feedback.
Nod when you get the meaning.
Smile when the topic is engaging.
Frown when the content is about some problem.
Learn how to listen without interrupting:
If you can understand the main point but are unsure about some words that don't seem relevant, ignore them and don't interrupt.
However, when you don't seem to understand keywords or relevant ideas, you'll need to interrupt by using a phrase like this one:
"Excuse me; I don't quite understand." "Could you please say that again?"
Ask questions:
Help the speaker by asking questions like: "Do you mean that…?" or "Are you trying to say that…."
Like this, the speaker will feel that you're genuinely interested in the conversation.
And keep smiling, show respect, and have fun communicating with people from all around the world.
Now, let’s practice.
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GRAMMAR MADE EASY
POV Story: Grammar in Context
Read the same story in two different points of view and notice how the grammar changes naturally.
Kate's Point of View
Hi everyone! I'm Kate, and today I'll talk about my friend Tony.
Some years ago, Tony had a "hopeless" accent, or at least that's what I thought.
It took me too much mental effort to guess whatever he was trying to say.
Often, we'd communicate with the help of facial expressions, hand gestures, or even writing on a piece of paper.
The funny thing is that he could perfectly understand me.
We didn't usually run into each other unless we made an effort. Eventually, we both got busy and didn't see each other for years.
Last week, we finally ran into each other. I was shocked at how much his pronunciation had improved. I could understand him perfectly, and although he still had an accent, it wasn't a distraction anymore.
I asked him how he improved his spoken English and got rid of the strong accent.
He told me that his first step was identifying his problem areas, so he hired a tutor.
Once he knew his weak points, he started listening to many English podcasts and audiobooks.
He normally listened to the same chapter several times and then tried to copy the speaker's pronunciation and intonation.
After a while, his friends started to notice great improvement. Eventually, it took him about one year to get rid of the strong accent.
He worked hard to improve his pronunciation, but it's been worth it. Tony's life has changed completely.
Now he's helping others dealing with the same difficulties he faced when he moved to the US.
Tony's Point of View
Hi! I'm Tony. I want to tell you how I managed to get rid of my strong accent.
Some years ago, I had a "hopeless" accent, or at least that's what everybody thought.
My accent was so strong that everyone thought I was speaking a variant of English or something like that.
It took people too much mental effort to guess whatever I was trying to say.
I liked hanging out with my friend Kate from time to time. Often, we'd communicate with the help of facial expressions, hand gestures, or even writing on a piece of paper.
The funny thing is that I could perfectly understand her, but she wouldn't get me.
We didn't usually run into each other unless we made an effort. Eventually, we both got busy and didn't see each other for years.
Last week, we finally ran into each other. She was shocked at how much my pronunciation had improved. Kate could understand me perfectly, and although I still have an accent, it wasn't a distraction anymore.
She asked me how I improved my spoken English and how I got rid of my strong accent.
I told her that my first step was identifying my problem areas, so I hired a tutor.
Once I knew my weak points, I started listening to many English podcasts and audiobooks.
I would normally listen to the same chapter several times, and then I tried to copy the speaker's pronunciation and intonation.
After a while, my friends started to notice great improvement. Eventually, it took me about one year to get rid of the strong accent.
I worked hard to improve my pronunciation, but it's been worth it. My life has changed completely.
Now I'm helping others with the same difficulties I faced when I moved to the US.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
accent
a distinctive way of pronouncing a language.
native language
the first language a person learned.
strong influence
a powerful effect on how something develops.
get rid of
remove or stop having something unwanted.
interrupt
speak while another person is still talking.
clarify
make something easier to understand.
patient
able to wait or deal with difficulty calmly.
pronunciation
the way words and sounds are spoken.
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