She even asked me to help my friend with their English.
It's nothing to brag about. Everyone have the potential to have good command in English. One just have to practice.
English is not our mother's tongue. Some are intimidated by English and English speaker. To be proficient, one have to be brave enough to speak English, write in English and use English everyday. Even if you have to talk to yourself. One should really try.
Don't be intimidated by English speakers. Yes, they may correct your English, but it is part of the learning process.
My bestie has the best English skills. She can even imitate certain English accent. Most are intimidated by her English. Some would just assume that she's a snob. I know, she's not a snob.
One day, a group of middle-schooler came to her work place. She works at a resort. The students were on an assignment. A group of them interviewed my bestie. One tried to speak in English. By tried, I meant that her English is just fine, a bit broken. One would assume that my bestie would scold the student for not using the correct English. In contrary, she praised the student's effort.
Those who are better in English should help and encourage non-English speaker. Non-native speaker should not be intimidated. Instead try to use English more. One can order food in English. Write a blog in English or just read more English book. There's no pill to help one use better English.
I may get praised but it's not an excuse for me to be smug. To be complacent. I still need to learn English. English is a dynamic language. Actually, all language are dynamic. It's ever-changing. The words we use now may not be relevant in the next century. There're slang and jargon used in different regions.
It's dynamic. Every years, there are new entries in the dictionary, be it Macquarie's Oxford's or Merriam-Webster's.
How I learn my English? I read more, speak more and write more (blog entry). That's the traditional approach. But don't limit yourself with the conventional approach. Find a way to make it enjoyable. Through movies or songs. My bestie learns hers from Sesame Street. A cartoon, but effective.
So happy 'Englishing'
Ohhh I remember that day! And you were there too! Three kids (not really kids, but they were at least five years younger than I am. LOL). They actually apologized for their awful English, but I told them it wasn't really bad. They just need more practice--ergo, more speaking like how they did with me. Hehehe...
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing about the people in our country. Their English isn't really bad. Much can be improved, if only they make real effort to practice it in their everyday lives. The society also needs to get rid of this mentality whereby people who have high English proficiency are viewed as snobs and stuck-ups. I don't blame them, though.Quite a number of local Anglophones over here who are indeed snobbish and stuck-up just because they speak like the Queen (which I highly doubt). Queen of the Forbidden City, more like--because the grammar and structure are still all over the place, as is the accent.
OK, I'm ranting.
Point is, we should help each other to learn. Not tear each other down.
Speaking of which, plenty of grammatical errors in your post. Do forgive me, I have a good eye for these things. After all, I learned News Editing in college. LOL.
Much to improve, you still have...let's improve together. Majulah Singapura! Eh? :P