- As a native English speaker,
have you ever been in a situation
where you've said something
that sounded very normal
and easy to you but your foreign colleague
couldn't understand what you
were saying no matter how many times you repeated it?
Maybe there are a few tricks to try
and say that in a more comprehensible way.
First, try and use verbs
that are made up of a single word instead of more than one.
For example, if you said, let's come up with some ideas,
it could be confusing.
It would be better to say, let's think about some ideas.
Try to find a Latin-derived word.
Instead of, look after these documents,
use, tend to these documents.
Instead of, put off a meeting,
use postpone a meeting, et cetera.
They probably sounds strange,
archaic, or too formal,
but many foreign languages have words derived from Latin,
so that makes comprehension a lot easier.
Another way to help comprehension
is to slow down your speech, separating words clearly.
One thing my students always complain about Americans
in particular is that they eat words as we say.
That means that when English speakers,
but really native speakers of any language,
speak at the natural pace,
foreigners are often unable to distinguish the words.
They sound all cramped together.
In fact, I'm not slowing down my speech
very much right now.
I'm used to the learner-friendly pace I always use in class.
So try and pretend you're a reporter,
speaking to the camera,
and you really want your audience
to understand every single word.
Slow down, and separate words clearly.
Also, use different words.
Don't speak louder.
If a foreign colleague doesn't understand you,
it doesn't mean they've got hearing problems.
One of my ESL tutors used to to tell me the story
of a parent meeting one of her Italian friends
and almost shouting at her,
repeating over and over,
who do you take after, your mom or your dad?
Clearly, the problem wasn't the volume
of their voices but rather the verb.
They could have said something like,
are you blonde like your mom or like your dad
at a normal volume.
What may sound natural and easy
to a native speaker may be very difficult for a foreigner,
whether in the office or when traveling.
Make sure you simplify your language as much as you can
and comprehension will be a natural consequence.