![]() What happened was, at a certain point of the conversation they started talking ‘ polizia’ which means police in Italian. I could follow simple discussions and I could speak in a simple way, and I was able to join in somewhat. All the group were Italian, I was the only foreigner, and I probably had an A2 level of Italian at that time -so pre– intermediate. Let me tell you a story – many many years ago, I was at a dinner party with my boyfriend, and his friends. Don’t nod and smile and sit there feeling left out* of the discussion This lesson is going to look at three common mistakes that we make and I want to show that these reactions to not understanding are ineffective and unhelpful when you are in this kind of situation.Īnd if you learn not to do them, it will help keep the anxiety to a minimum. However, if you are shy like I am, it’s possible that even in social situations, not understanding can cause you stress or anxiety. Probably more so in professional situations, at work. That said, one of the biggest problems my students face is when not understanding is anxiety. *to get at = to imply When not understanding causes ANXIETY It happens between native speakers all the time. Maybe we didn’t hear properly, or maybe we just don’t understand what the person is getting at.* I think no matter* how strong your English level is, there will always be times when you don’t understand something that is being said. ![]() * struggle = fight, difficulty Don’t understand? It happens to ALL of us! Whereas, his colleagues, who are not married to a Scottish English teacher, were also finding the vocabulary and informal expressions that the native speakers were using, really hard to understand. ![]() I asked what the main problem had been, and he said the main thing for him, was speed. I asked what was up, and he said that he and his colleagues, who are Swiss and Italian, had had a real struggle* understanding the English guys during the meeting. I digress … he comes back from London tired and, let’s be honest, a little grumpy*. And the reasons for this are varied (and that’s another story!) We pretty much have the opposite thing going on – my comprehension in Italian is really strong, whereas my speaking not so much. His listening skills on the other hand aren’t as strong as his spoken skills. Now, Enri, (I think) speaks proficiently in English he’s extremely fluent and has a wide vocabulary and he even knows some Scottish words which is pretty impressive. My hubby, Enri was in London last week for work, to meet with an agency that his company uses. ![]() Read & Listen! Comprehension of native speakers is difficult – even for advanced learners ![]()
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