4 Incorrect Assumptions About Native English Speakers
I wanted to take the time to write a post about incorrect assumptions of native English speakers. People learning English as a second or third language often look towards native English speakers as idols.
In my opinion, this is further impacted by an authority bias whereby native English speakers are perceived in predominantly English-speaking communities as experts or authorities in comparison to their non-native English speaking counterparts.
i.e. if you speak English natively, your English-speaking community sees you as better than your non-native English equally-qualified counterpart.
I can understand the conclusions drawn to make that assumption, but I want to talk more about why I think that's wrong to assume and consider the following.
Assumption #1 - All Native English speakers are Good at Communicating in English
They are not.
I'm putting that out there now. People can be terrible communicators despite speaking English their entire life, the exact same way Spanish speakers can be terrible communicators in Spanish and Mandarin speakers can be terrible communicators in Mandarin.
The premise is the same.
It's the same, because communication is more than simply saying words with the correct pronunciation. Different languages apply weighted value to the different aspects of the communication differently, but it ultimately means that pronunciation is only one aspect of the equation.
For example, in Italian, hand gestures and non-verbal acts are an essential aspect of their communication style. Even if your Italian pronunciation was perfect, the communication experience is not the same without them.
So, when we think of English, it's important to recognize that even if you pronounce all the words correctly, your eye contact, nonverbal cues, intonation, listening and so much more may be weak which means you may not be good at communicating in English.
A quick google search or youtube search for "effective communicators" emphasizes this point. Native English speakers are also honing their communication style and skill because they need work to improve it too.
Assumption #2 - All Native English Speakers Know How to Pronounce All English Words
For whatever reason, native English speakers are assumed to know how to pronounce every word. With many of my clients, they'll ask me how to pronounce a word that they are studying and ask me how I would pronounce it. Many times, they're picking obscure low-frequency words from the dictionary or in some specialized field.
I look at the word - The combination of letters appears in a sequence I've never encountered before. I mouth the words slowly as my brain tries to make sense. I stare quietly for a couple seconds. And then that's when I used handy-dandy google search.
And that's usually how it happens for me. As a native English speaker, it doesn't mean I know all the words. Sometimes, I've heard a word used before but have never actually read it. Other times, I've read it or written it but never spoken it aloud.
The key is that I am proficient with high frequency words. The more specialized or low-frequency the word is, the less likely I know it or use it regularly.
That should be how you also approach learning English. Learn the words that are used often, high-frequency words or words specific to your industry or profession because you'll reap the most benefit from them.
Consider the following industries and some industry-specific words. Would you know them?
Hospital - thrombocytopenia, angina, aphasia,
Restaurant - emulsification, chiffonade, truss
School - scaffolding, pedagogy
Congratulations if you know them. Don't stress about it if you don't. The reason being, unless you work in those industries, it would be rare to use those words and the benefit to learning the correction pronunciation and spelling may not be worth the time spent as compared with other more common (a.k.a. high frequency words)
Assumption #3 - Complex English Speech Is Always Better
Complexity is not always a good thing. There's a reason why the KISS principle exists.
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Unnecessary complexity does absolutely nothing for you. It can confuse you, confuse others and ultimately show others you don't know what you are doing.
Unless there is actually an elegant purpose for which one utilizes the additional complexity, it is simply superfluous, bombastic nonsense that is counterproductive, diminishes the comprehension of one's listeners and illuminates in others, your insecurities and need for external validation.
That sounds extremely pretentious and unnecessary.
Instead of working on complexity, it is important that your sentences or phrases flow into each other seamlessly rather than abruptly.
Having unnecessarily complex speech is not effective because it communicates that you don't have anything important to say but want to sound smart. To me, that infers that you are either not confident that your content is insightful and you are trying to bolster it by sounding more intelligent or you are so invested in sounding smart, that you cannot prioritize ensuring that your message is communicated easily to the next person.
People who communicate in a verbose or convoluted way have somehow made it to this point in their careers but when engaging with someone who is an expert and is capable of understanding this complexity, will be quickly exposed.
Assumption #4 - Practicing Pronunciation Under Your Breath or By Reading is Effective
Practicing is important. I am not here to debate that fact. The issue is the way that practice is completed is important. It is not something you can master 3 seconds after I've demonstrated and it is not effective to practice it under your breath and muttered to yourself.
The best way to practice is to establish a functional and relevant scenario for real-life use.
You will get real world feedback using real world interactions as moments for learning.
You will reduce the anxiety and performance stress associated with these moments as you practice more because the stakes of 'real world application' are reduced.
You practice coordinating all the other aspects of communication associated including volume control, intonation, gesturing and rhythm.
Sure, practicing under your breath is more helpful than not practicing at all but drill-like practice for 1 minute will not have the life-changing impact you aspire to have with improving your English pronunciation.
You need to actually learn to be comfortable seeking situations that warrant you practicing. If you want to learn how to pronounce the word "Unfortunately", you need to put yourself into situations to use it.
Talk to a stranger - "Unfortunately, my phone has died. Can you tell me the time?"
Talk to a store employee - "Unfortunately, I cannot find any cans of corn. Can you show me where they are?"
Talk to a friend - "Unfortunately, I got lost looking for the restaurant. Sorry that I'm late!"
By practicing or preparing phrases that you like or you want to use, you will be incentivized to look for opportunities to try it.
If you practice in isolation under your breath, you are not making the moment memorable, you are not using it in a functional way and you are not setting yourself up for success.
The closer your practice mimics real life use, the more effective it is in helping.
So Take that Native English Speaker Off Their Pedestal
Native English speakers are not perfect at English. There are lots of things they can learn to become better communicators. As a non-native English speaker, there are many things that you can excel at in English communication better than a native English speaker.
So don't necessarily aspire to be like a native English speaker. Simply aspire to be a better communicator.
If you know of a native English speaker that communicates well, do not attribute it to the fact that they are a native English speaker. Think about what they individually do differently or well that sets them apart. Otherwise, if you think of it as a feature of being a native English speaker, you are shit out of luck as a non-native English speaker.
If you can pinpoint the skills, habits, or communication behaviors that make them an effective communicator, you too can develop and learn those skills yourself
So take a second and think about what YOU can focus on.
Where do you notice your miscommunications?
What is something that a "good" communicator does that you noticed?
And then ask WHY and HOW.
