Hi Christian! What an amazing interview. I was born and raised in Brazil before moving to the US at the age of 21. I learned English on my own and after a couple years I decided to take a course to become an interpreter. I worked as an interpreter and translator for 10 years in Boston. I worked really hard on my accent, because I hated when people would go, huh? Anyway, I moved to Italy 3 years ago and started teaching English to Italians. I was hired due to my ‘native status’ and I was very proud of myself for that. Last week while teaching, a student asked me where I was from originally. I hesitated and had this fear that if I said that I was from Brazil that I would lose my credibility as a native teacher. I feel the same way about the industry and I try to teach my students that accents make who they are and that the important thing is to be understood, because at the end of the day they’re most likely going to interact with a non- native speaker and with people that are in the same situation as them. I would love to hear from you and help anyway I can. Thank you so much. I’m a big fan. Grasiela
I'll spend 5 years of my life studying only grammar, and I can't have a conversation, now I'm studying the four scores: listening, reading, writing and talking.
Here in Spain, especially in Seville, all the academies want "native teachers", no matter how much English you know, no matter how good you are. If you were born in Spain, they won't hire you. So, like it or not, you are both privileged people. Anyway well done, I love your videos.
It's a great lesson of history this interview... it's about power and status quo... feeling inferior put your brain in a stuck position....if you feel inferior it's like stopping your brain to keep learning and improving.... It's a state of mind...
Each day, I love you more and more for being this teacher and specially this person!!! What a big and important service to our students!!! 👏👏 thank you a lot
A nice story from my life that fits this topic: After my family died, I sold a lot of things. I remember one day at the flea market, where a lot of Americans go. A tall, proud woman who had already bought from me two or three times once complimented me: "You speak English very well!" I, as a model from the past, answered "Yes, but I'm still missing a lot of words and grammar." Then she said loudly and with her index finger raised, "Stop - wrong answer"! A little startled, I asked "What is the right answer?" She said, "Thank you!" 😊 We should be happy about being able to talk to each other - the greatest gift of our lives. ❣️ We should deal with all honest compliments in exactly the same way and simply say "Thank you". 😊🌷🍀
Very educational and interesting video, as a English speaker as second language and as a Spanish teacher myself as second/third language is very useful. I agree about the "invisible discrimination" about this topic. The terms "bad" and "good" always has been very dangerous, not neutral at all, in this context too. We should be aware to label "bad English speaker" to someone. Thanks
This is so eye-opening to watch... I went through university training and we've been taught that we have to speak RP and I had this idea in my head that RP is spoken by such a tiny percentage of the population...now I know I was right.
More people speak English as a second language than as a native language, so people learning English will be using it with people from any country in the world and the idea that someone from China and someone from Brazil should talk to each other in posh British accents is absurd. They need to be understandable, obviously, and that's enough. It actually upsets me a bit when students say something like "sorry for my horrible Chinese accent". It's like, dude, you're from China, of course you sound Chinese! I speak Chinese with an English accent too because I'm from England but I've never apologised for that. As for grammar, it's fine to aim high and want to speak to an advanced level eventually, but that takes about 10+ years of consistent dedicated effort. Maybe you want to speak to people sooner than that, so yeah maybe you'll make some mistakes. You know what - life is good without the third person 's'. "My dad really like cake", that's perfectly understandable, don't be afraid to speak because of mistakes like that. Again, you can aim to eliminate such mistakes eventually, but that takes time so just have fun learning the language, relax and enjoy the process, don't let perfectionism stress you out.
Yes, Ben! Sometimes I feel teachers who feel this way are in the minority. Before I can teach my students anything, I need them to feel confident. I always tell them not to worry about making mistakes and above all not to apologise for their "bad" English (I hate that phrase!). I really hope that things happening in society now will be a catalyst for change in the TEFL industry.
I discovered your channel one week ago and I'm really surprise because I like to watch your videos .I can't all understand so far because I'm learning English for 4month but I be able to undestand a little and .I'm disappointed to haven't discovered your videos earlier ?you are truly helpful for me thanks .
A very valid point she made. Native speakers must avoid using idioms and phrases in an international setting, for a simple reason, you are the one who can't speak any other language and others are speaking your language to include you.
I think the language is created by great writers because they present the new high ideas for people from all the places of the world. So we need more great writers from different countries writing in English. They will create the global English which is going to be understandable in every part of our planet.
Thank you so much Christian for this lesson you know I was really confused when I started to learn English I didn't know which one i have to follow British English or American English or other cuz on RUclips I didn't find a English normal(without accent) so I was lost about to say for example take a shower or have a shower... I wanted just to be able to speak English but instead I was lost in all those videos about english idioms an slang and really make me feeling sad and stupid I just want to ask all those teacher on RUclips to make us English simple and easier because we are tired we just want to comunicate perfectly we don't need accents or idioms or slang please don't make it hard.
Christian, could you believe that, you're the best teacher, that I've ever seen, watch, and listen to...I have to thank you for your efforts. I love to listen to your accent, one day I hope I can speak like you,, I wish you have to have more linguistic experts here..... A zillion of Thanks, Christ
Christian I've found your channel recently and I just loved it so much! Your approach is so deep and interesting for me as for non-native speaker. That's just so great to listen! Thank you!
When I say I would like to speak like an English native speaker, I don't really focus on the result. I focus much more on the process. In other words, I mean I would like to feel like I feel when I speak in my mother tongue (in my case, French). I don't mean I want to parrot anyone. I just want to express myself as naturally, as fluently as possible and I want to be understood, not boring. I want to feel as self-confident as possible and not to get tired after a short while. I don't want to sound like a native English speaker sounds, I want to speak like they speak. It's not the same thing. Such a goal isn't unreachable, is it? It surely requires time and commitment but teachers like you really help. Yes, you do and I THANK YOU.
@Verena Schauer I do agree. Indeed, practice is needed without interruption.. To some extent, you never "know" a language. Either you can think, speak, write using it or you can't.
Do you know Bob Marley's beautiful "Redemption song"? The verses of this song have a different construction than the ones that we usually hear. Instead of saying "They rob me, he says "They rob I". This happens because of Bob Marley's origin: he comes from Jamaica. In this song you'll hear many times the omission of the "h" sound, for example "But my (h)and was made strong" and "Cause all I ever (h)ave. Despite this ...or maybe that's why it's a wonderful song.
My English skills are average. I don't understand Edgar Allan Poe without looking in a dictionary after each 5 words. And Oscar Wilde also, BBC also. But if I hear Christian on this channel, everything is so clear, fragment-paused spoken and I understand 80%- 90% while a drink a cup of coffee. Why? I think Christian is a good speaker and also a good teacher! Thank you, Christian.
I have an american friend. I don't understand every exact word she says to me, but I listen to her the whole idea or sentence and we comunicate very well. I understand the main idea. She even says that I am good at English, so my advice is not to translate every single word you read, but read everything as a whole to catch the main idea.
Dude, those books are like 200 years old, no native speaker can read that without help. I'm sure you couldn't read a 200-year-old book in you native language.
@@lauramarin1777 I thank you for this tip and I think it's a good way "idea-guided" to follow a conversation. Meanwhile I sometimes do it in such a way that I treat a language as a piece of music (e.g. from Mozart) and that I only follow the sound of the language. This does not help understanding (but this is not my aim in this case), but it sensitizes you immensely to the language and takes the pressure to understand everything. (Translation help with google).
I think, to having an accent is problem only in one case-if you're ununderstandable. So, i understand native speakers too. It's little bit difficult to listen to someone who has a "hard" pronunciation. Everyone has to work on it. Good luck all of you.
Thank you both for speaking up the fair view on using and teaching English language. I am Russian and English has become a habit for me from middle school. And I need to confine I teach English while these hard times with the Global unemployment scenario going on as the way to survive. I feel lucky to be at the front edge of the changes to the ETI thanks to such experienced teachers like you! I am a fan of Lucy channel and I can confirm the approach of teaching English is changing right away. I am staying tuned!
That’s an excellent conversation about accent! If you have an accent that means you know another language or languages and maybe I have more skills than you!
Thank you to both of you for creating this video which highlights so clearly an important aspect of language learning. I particularly agree with the point that it's native speakers that need to be more mindful of the difficulties second language speakers might have with understanding accent. Native speakers, like me, can reduce their accent with a bit of care and effort, without losing identity or natural sound. Just because we may be lucky to speak the lingua franca language used in international business or other situations, doesn't mean we should take for granted that the second language English speaker will find our accent or vocabulary easy to understand. Excessive use of idiomatic expressions can create confusion in the mind of the second language speaker, so why use them? This was a great point about idioms, although all languages have them, so I think we still might need to acknowledge them. For more advanced learners, who might have a need to understand more about the culture as well as the language; then idioms, humour, history, etc. all become part of what can make their language learning experience more interesting and useful. Rather than teach them only if students insist, but then never use them with the teacher, I don't think that this is always going to suit those students' needs. In the context of this interview, and the international business communication style of English, then I would agree that idioms and idiomatic expressions are best to be avoided. However, in more social situations such as travelling, making friends, learning more about culture and people; then in these situations some knowledge of COMMONLY USED idioms and idiomatic expressions will be useful to the students. In which case, practising their correct use with the teacher will help them in two ways. Firstly, they will understand these expressions when they hear them, and secondly, they will have FUN with the language when using it themselves. It's not all about just communicating to close a deal or explain processes and policies. I would argue that even in business communication at an operational level between countries there will always be some level of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs that are used as part of the communication. I know this from mainly teaching to in-company clients here in Madrid where I live, who often ask me about phrases they hear in international meetings or on videoconferencing calls. As the language evolves more, perhaps a "new standard" of international lingua franca English might evolve separately. It would be interesting to hear people's views on this. However, this could then create another form of elitist language for the rich and powerful to further extend their influence. People will always find a way to communicate what they want if they really have a need to do so, they often do this in very interesting ways that can surprise the the language teacher who is more accustomed to a formal standardised approach to teaching languages. This is a huge topic in English language teaching and learning. I'll look forward to further debate, ideas and sharing of opinions, knowledge and experiences.
The unwritten rule is such that if you go someplace with different language/accent then YOU make an effort to understand and be understood. It's YOUR responsibility. The effort of native speakers is welcome but isn't mandatory and should not be expected. It is close to impossible to be always ready to understand any accent. It is very possible to tune to a particular accent though.
You talk like willing to speak like native speaker is wrong :) There is nothing wrong if one wants to achieve for example South British accent. I agree with you, if you talk almost perfect british/usa accent it DOES NOT mean someone is more intelligent that others. It's just amazing to see people who worked hard to gain second accent. I am not native English speaker and English is my second language and I really want to work hard to sharpen my English skills and gain second accent and there is nothing wrong with that :) P.S I love British accents
I don't know why but I feel like I posted little offensive/negative comment :D I didn't want that. I love Canguro English videos and I love Christian's positive attitude
May I ask why some specialists on language learning for infants and toddlers say, that just listening (like videos or cartoon episodes) is too passive? They say you have to interact with the native baby to learn to speak…
Thanks a lot Christian and to this girl too, but one thing that I notice with the majority teachers, when they explain methodes, how to engage with the language English, what is good or not for understand a languaje, what things we have to do or not, etc....is that all of them explain this extremly fast and fast, and not take care about , like in this video, which it is for people learning, who are interested in English language, it is not for Christian. I thing that there are a lot of beginers and intermediates students who would like to have unsderstood Heather Hansen, however so quickly it is impossible. Even though thanks a lot Christian, and thanks a lot H. Hansen.
Accent doesn't matter. People should be proud of their accent, however, correct use of a language is very important in my opinion. Learners should try to expose themselves to as many different accents as possible. Given the digital age that we live in now, this is so easy to do.
You do your students a disservice if you don' t teach them common idioms. Knowledge of these s idioms is essential to understanding English speakers. She is right about the dysfunctional industry that has done a lot of damage to the profession.
Graciosa tu anécdota en esa conferencia donde habia gente del sur de España, ellos tienen un acento diferente y algunos sonidos los pronuncian ligeramente diferentes, las CH por ejemplo
The English language industry is made for the people never learn to speak the idiom, because while are studying since the kinder garden until the university we learning the same (only grammar). That's the reason because in my country is a big business to learn English language.
This "Great Debate" about the "English Language" seems to center around the "Spoken Language." Last night I had an interesting discovery about the "Spoken Language" of Germany. See www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/dialektatlas/s-8150, namely from Deutsche Welle about the Dialects of German through out Europe. Then some time ago there was a "Great Debate" going on in Switzerland about which should be the 2nd language learned by the students? Another Official Language of the country (there are 4) or English? See Swiss Information Services web site. What I was curios about with all of these spoken dialects of the German Language in Europe, was, how many I could understand, from the times I was first exposed or learned them as a child or from the time-to-times I would go back to Europe and speak them? The English Language is not any different. I do recall a time as I had my interview at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. The first people I met, spoke to me in English, since they knew ahead of time I was arriving from North America. It was the Queen's English we amused ourselves with, until I told them that just came from a Goethe Institute German Language School in northern Germany and had passed by German as a 2nd Language Certificates through CII. And Yikes, I as a child grew up in this part of Germany and perfectly understood the local Frieburg's Baden Würtemberg's spoken dialect. It made for a rather charming conversation and first interview, with all of the curtesies. The written Language as I was reading through the German Language texts, required me to pull out my Duden's German Dictionary from time to time. Going to Basel, and Freiberg Switzerland was another interesting event, that challenged my Allemanisch Dialect understandings. To offset those confusions, the academic professionals wanted to speak English with me. Which I found an acceptable accommodation to the local spoken dialect language of German. The same holds to day with my next door neighbors from Mexico and their form of the spoken English Language or my my less than perfect understandings of Spanish from Mexico. For when I speak Spanish it is almost always with an Italian accent. I suggest that comes from all of those Italian Operas I had to listen to as a child on Saturdays when going to the Opera Houses in Europe.
These are my favorites: 1) The Phonology of English as an International Language 2) English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity Another interesting one if you are involved with universities is: 3) English as a Lingua Franca in the International University
Has it ever occured to you that an executive is just privileged enough to speak however they want? It's not the case for a poor girl from suburbs of a third-world country. Social hierarchy is cruel but it's not going to change from the language industry. It's about economics. Many people, few resources, here we go, competition on every level. And yes, if that girl wants to have access to higher levels compared to her parents, she'll have to pretend to be wealthier and more educated - and that might include a different accent. She won't feel bad about her inappropriate pronunciation. She'll feel bad about her social background, chronic stress and probably violence she got from her parents, fewer educational opportunities, etc. And she'd better evaluate her social position correctly, otherwise she'll quickly become a victim of fraud or another abusive relationship. No, you can't eliminate social inequality by pretending it doesn't exsit.
Within the actual situation about people all around the world fighting against racism, inequalities over race, and culture, against violence. I truly believe this is the right moment to take this topic further. We need to have this conversation, to listen and respect everyone in their specific way to recall for a more open mind, essentially and especially in the education we are getting and teaching. We need to teach respect, love, and maybe this change can help to reduce all these feelings of anger, hate, and how people see each other. Of course, it will not solve all the problems, but I know that teachers have great power and while we keep teaching this kind of discriminatory content like speaking like American Native or perfect English, so we'll still have other problems to solve in our societies.
Accents are cute, as long your grammar is close to right, and your effort to get the clear pronunciation is there. Otherwise, we seem we are dumb. 😂 Says the Brazilian bilingual who still hates to roll my tongue. I consider myself bilingual because I dream in English when in Canada or US. And I understand Australian 😂 It took me years. And I don’t get Black English.
When two non-native English speakers are having conversation and they understand each other well, then they speak English perfectly...better than native speakers who speak with very sophisticated english words which confused non native.
What if the two non native English speaker don't understand each other because their accent being that strong and they don't want to change that? If everyone tried to listen to native English accents and mimic it better, maybe more people could understand each other better. 😊
I suppose you guys have been living under a rock for quite some time because modern English textbooks teach modern English that's actually spoken in the world. RP hasn't been a thing for quite a while. They teach either something that's called Standard Southern British English or General American. In every single book there are audios, videos where different people are featured, such as, Chinese people speaking English, Australians, Russians, etc. Accent and dialect differences are pointed out all the time
Thank you Christian for all the good teachings I got from you. I really like what you're standing for. However, what this lady is telling looks to me as a weird attempt to bring into the language learning sphere something rather divisive. I'm a non-native speaker and I've never felt English as something 'oppressive' or 'colonial'. I don't care if the actual cultural dominance of English is still derivative from the colonial era. Ok, that's her judgment and I respect her judgment as such as long as she isn't obliging me to feel like a kind of 'victim' of a whole 'system'. Well, I'm not. Like Epictetus once said: 'you can only be hurt by an oppressor if you feel yourself a victim'. I don't see myself as a victim (I'm not suffering from cultural setbacks and so on). I just want to improve my pronunciation because I would like to be better understood. That's all. I'm not interested of course in sounding like 'a native'. After all, what is a native? a football hooligan from Manchester? or someone still wearing a bowler hat from the city? I really don't know. I don't want to be divided along cultural lines. I'm just a foreigner to all those things. An individual, making his own choices and who doesn't want to be bound by any group identity.
As an English language teacher this is a constant frustration for me. A significant number of my students are obsessed with acquiring a native accent. I try to explain to them that the goal should always be to be understood, if someone can understand you then your accent is perfect. Despite this, I am always met with such resistence and, at times, disappointment when I say this to them and they are so reluctant to let go of this idea.
Because they want to "feel" British or American in a way. They want that idea of belonging. There is nothing wrong with that. Why is it so hard for English teachers to teach them your accent and correct theirs if they would be more confident or motivated by that? Why some English teacher want their students to keep their strong foreign accent if the students themselves want to change it, why not to help them instead of saying, your accent is just fine be happy with it?! Sometimes it is just not fine at all. I struggle to understand some of my friends from Indian area for example, that's why it would be nice if people would care about it and study at least a standardised accent so people could understand each other better. Don't forget that a non native English speaker tends to speak better in the company of a native English speaker. Why? Because it gives them confidence by mimicing the good example subconsciously they have in front in them. I don't think you should discourage your students loosing their foreign accent if they don't want to sound Spanish while speaking English!
I couldn't agree with any of the things she said. We can't be going around saying: I don't care about grammar, just because some big shot ceo can get away with it doesn't mean she should start encouraging everybody to do the same.
@@lailariad1869 there is a point when communication in any way is more important than grammar and there is a point where grammar gets more important especially in a high level of a role like a CEO. They just can't be that ignorant not to be bothered using the right grammar out of ignorance or laziness. Because at the end the language itself will loose it's identity...
No. If I spoke like a native, people non in English speaking country -and even those from diverse English speaking country with various accents- would not understand me. International English is a differente language from that of native speakers. And I could not care less about the English language proper.
It's time to break this Idea that only exactly In native accent is enough to be comprehensible. A lingua Franca needs to be at least a bit more flexible to everybody use it.
Take the Italian Educational system and its "old-fashioned" school. Teachers who do not get appropriate training. Unmotivated students. Uneffective approach. None of this helps. Learning is more than simply being shown how to do something or focusing on useless information. Not only global English but also loads of other potential skills: we need to really focus on the learner from all point of views. That's where a good teacher makes the difference! Teachers should build passion through a systematic and well-structured approach. They need to consider every single perspective! This global approach will stop any kind of discrimination!
For me grammar does matter but accent does not matter. In my opinion that CEO was wrong. Just because you run a fortune 500 company is no excuse for bad grammar, that just plain laziness. Grammar is important not the accent or how you pronouciation the words. For example if you boss asks you to finish an important financial document that needs to be handed in a hour but he words it incorrectly and uses the wrong past or future tense and then you don't do it and deadline passes because you think you have time. He or she then comes up to you and fires because you did not get it done. Imagine if you a client in a bank and the bank manager user incorrect grammar and you end up signing something you did not mean to sign. Let's be clearly I am not talking about accent or pronouciation just the grammar.
Hi, Cristian, It was amazing to listen to your conversation with Heather. I totally agree with you both. I found this other TED Talk also really interesting: ruclips.net/video/Ge7c7otG2mk/видео.html Cheers
I just watched a Rachel's English video called "Best English Accent - Speak like a Native Speaker" Some parts made me a bit uncomfortable, I know she's not mocking her students but it's a bit cringy. Rachel is like polar opposite of Heather lol I am thinking that's a little too much even for me.
Yeah, you don't neet to know grama as you don't need be smart or read books as long as you're happy. You can be dump but rich. Is it that you try to say ?
Christian. I understand that your concern with the matter has been poorly handled. It was not correct to expose Lucy in this way. It was not necessary to do this. You should handle the matter without using her name and image. I recognize as important your concern with the teaching of the English language and the imposition of normative and exclusive forms promoted by the language teaching industry. In any case, there are students of the English language who wish to learn commercial ways to use the English language and Lucy tried to meet this demand and did so with the best of intentions. The correct thing now is to retract and seek to repair the damage done to Lucy and her followers in the best possible way possible. I wish your channel success.
Hi! I'm one of lucy's followers and Christian too, I don't see why you're making of it a big fuss. Christian is in the right position to tell if is there something wrong in the business and he did what he thaught is right, and Lucy she recognized and even apologized with an exemplary fair play. this afternoon they talked to each other, lady to a gentleman. to me, both of them now are bigger than they were. I hope that they're gonna make something together for us, I'm sure if they do is gonna be lit.
I'm not sure what Lucy has to do with this. They are discussing a major issue in the ESL industry, not Lucy. You're the one bringing her up. Besides, no one "exposed" her. She is a public figure, and people are allowed to critique the statements of people with a large following who make statements from a place of authority. It's good to have free debate and your statements challenged.
Hello teacher. Just remember that because you're a native English speaker, you can understand some people who are speaking in not good pronunciation. For someone like me who is talking English as a Second Language, it would be difficult.
That seems logical, but you actually have some special super powers as a non-native speaker! 💪💪 Non-native speakers are usually more accepting of a wider range of sounds and hear many more varieties of English than native speakers. Non-native speakers usually understand each other more easily than a native speaker would. Interesting, isn’t it? When we moved to Singapore, my husband adapted to the language much faster than I did!
@@heatherhansen Actually I think this is not true. I have my friend's husband who I don't understand after 4 years of knowing him. We meet regurarly but still it is very much of a struggle for me to understand him. There are accents that are not clearly understandable for everyone, like Indian or French. Also, a language learner can get exhausted more easily even after just listening to different people's accents especially if that differs from the accent they learnt English in the school. I can sometimes totally understand English people not being able to understand foreigners as there are accents just not clear enough - this applies to grammar mistakes as well when one's point of view cannot get across clearly. Interestingly we have the same thing in Hungary, a very few people study it as a second language and when somebody speaks it in a strange accent to our ears, we can't even guess a word not alone attach a meaning to it (yes there are different levels to this of course). Going back to English, I think it is nice to have a confidence to start speaking (and it is also fine making mistakes but one should learn from those mistakes) but it is not enough if someone would like to say that I am good at it. I also think if we don't bother learning the right grammar then English as a language could loose it's identity. Also, if someone reached a position of a CEO, clearly they could try harder mastering their English skills, that wouldn't hurt their business...
This is absolutely amazing, this means a lot to all of us who every day put this passion and love in learning English as a second language, thank you! (Edited: I don't mean that I wanna learn in a wrong way, what I really mean is this message is like a relief, I feel less pressure, and knowing that out there are Teachers who have this in mind and who cares about it, this just encourage me to keep learning)
I am an English teacher in France . I lived in Kenya for two years and was lucky to have American and British friends . As my friends say , I have a mid-Atlantic accent. My students like my accent . They were disappointed when I told them that I was not a native speaker.
Thank you very much for this fantastic conversation with Heather. It's not easy to be a non native speaker and you keep hearing: where are you from? your accent? etc. There are moments when you feel fed up with that. Anyway, I keep learing English because I believe that one day I 'll be good at it ☺ xx
I grew up in Australia, speaking Australian English. I am currently trying to learn to speak and read Russian. Don't undermine yourself, you will develop to speak your own personal kind of English. Accents and grammar are dynamic anyway. The only thing that matters is that you can communicate with others in a common language. English has its strange exceptions, just like other languages.
This whole conversation about accent reduction, bad English, and all is indeed a complex issue. My thoughts can't be summed up in a single comment, I know. However, I would like to mention some points: About grammar part: Non-native speakers have been told that grammar matters a lot when it comes to building English language skills. And, after living with this thought continuously, we seriously start believing it all the way; and, after studying so much grammar, subconsciously, we take pride in judging people's English grammar skills. About accent part: The wrong obsession of having a native-like accent is so deep that it IS a kind of language-learning pandemic, according to me. Non-native speakers of English are made to feel highly inferior because of this accent prejudice. And it's so sickening. Bad English: Yes, understanding and communicating matter in the first place -- everything else has to be secondary. But, being a Curriculum Developer (ESL), can I afford to use casual grammar in my grammar materials? I am afraid I can't. And, for the accent part, we don't need to lose our accent! We need to study or know about the pronunciation aspects (IPA, word stress, sentence stress, and so on) to make ourselves better understood.... P.S.: The prevalent prejudice, which is discussed in the video, is so deep that it has rubbed off on non-native English speakers.... We non-native speakers are also responsible for this long-held prejudice in one way or the other.
I totally get what the topic means and how relevant it is to raise awareness to minimize discrimination against non-native accents.But, I´m wondering if over time, the language can loose its beautiful structure and complexity when we take things to some extreme extent all over the world. It´s great and absolutely valid to explore all kinds of speaking without being afraid about judgments, but also it´s wonderful to keep the language structure. My point is people are lazy by nature and they can adhere to the 'lazy' language and bury over the centuries the complex language that was developed up to now. This would be a shame.
Hi Christian! What an amazing interview. I was born and raised in Brazil before moving to the US at the age of 21. I learned English on my own and after a couple years I decided to take a course to become an interpreter. I worked as an interpreter and translator for 10 years in Boston. I worked really hard on my accent, because I hated when people would go, huh? Anyway, I moved to Italy 3 years ago and started teaching English to Italians. I was hired due to my ‘native status’ and I was very proud of myself for that. Last week while teaching, a student asked me where I was from originally. I hesitated and had this fear that if I said that I was from Brazil that I would lose my credibility as a native teacher. I feel the same way about the industry and I try to teach my students that accents make who they are and that the important thing is to be understood, because at the end of the day they’re most likely going to interact with a non- native speaker and with people that are in the same situation as them. I would love to hear from you and help anyway I can. Thank you so much. I’m a big fan. Grasiela
I'll spend 5 years of my life studying only grammar, and I can't have a conversation, now I'm studying the four scores: listening, reading, writing and talking.
I was in this condition
You don't have to study, you have to practice a lot, first listening a lot, at least 3 hours daily, speaking, reading and writing daily.
Me too. I'm in the same way now.
The five years that you study grammar will serve as a basis for you to get where you are today. Do not underestimate this.
@@juelise where do you live?
I see that what makes learn whatever language hard is the fear to talk, the fear to be wrong or to hear someone saying that we're not right
Here in Spain, especially in Seville, all the academies want "native teachers", no matter how much English you know, no matter how good you are. If you were born in Spain, they won't hire you. So, like it or not, you are both privileged people. Anyway well done, I love your videos.
It's a great lesson of history this interview... it's about power and status quo... feeling inferior put your brain in a stuck position....if you feel inferior it's like stopping your brain to keep learning and improving.... It's a state of mind...
Thank you Chris and Heather...
Each day, I love you more and more for being this teacher and specially this person!!! What a big and important service to our students!!! 👏👏 thank you a lot
Wow, she's a nice, intelligent, and good person. God bless her, actually both!
The language that someone speaks - it is an intellectual face of the person!
A nice story from my life that fits this topic: After my family died, I sold a lot of things. I remember one day at the flea market, where a lot of Americans go. A tall, proud woman who had already bought from me two or three times once complimented me: "You speak English very well!" I, as a model from the past, answered "Yes, but I'm still missing a lot of words and grammar." Then she said loudly and with her index finger raised, "Stop - wrong answer"! A little startled, I asked "What is the right answer?" She said, "Thank you!" 😊 We should be happy about being able to talk to each other - the greatest gift of our lives. ❣️ We should deal with all honest compliments in exactly the same way and simply say "Thank you". 😊🌷🍀
Very educational and interesting video, as a English speaker as second language and as a Spanish teacher myself as second/third language is very useful. I agree about the "invisible discrimination" about this topic. The terms "bad" and "good" always has been very dangerous, not neutral at all, in this context too. We should be aware to label "bad English speaker" to someone. Thanks
Thanks again - I could watch and hear you for hours. 😊
This is so eye-opening to watch... I went through university training and we've been taught that we have to speak RP and I had this idea in my head that RP is spoken by such a tiny percentage of the population...now I know I was right.
Welcome to the Australian way. We reject all historic class distinction
More people speak English as a second language than as a native language, so people learning English will be using it with people from any country in the world and the idea that someone from China and someone from Brazil should talk to each other in posh British accents is absurd. They need to be understandable, obviously, and that's enough. It actually upsets me a bit when students say something like "sorry for my horrible Chinese accent". It's like, dude, you're from China, of course you sound Chinese! I speak Chinese with an English accent too because I'm from England but I've never apologised for that.
As for grammar, it's fine to aim high and want to speak to an advanced level eventually, but that takes about 10+ years of consistent dedicated effort. Maybe you want to speak to people sooner than that, so yeah maybe you'll make some mistakes. You know what - life is good without the third person 's'. "My dad really like cake", that's perfectly understandable, don't be afraid to speak because of mistakes like that. Again, you can aim to eliminate such mistakes eventually, but that takes time so just have fun learning the language, relax and enjoy the process, don't let perfectionism stress you out.
Thanks, Ben! I really needed to hear that!
Yes, Ben! Sometimes I feel teachers who feel this way are in the minority. Before I can teach my students anything, I need them to feel confident. I always tell them not to worry about making mistakes and above all not to apologise for their "bad" English (I hate that phrase!). I really hope that things happening in society now will be a catalyst for change in the TEFL industry.
I agree!
Perfect!
I discovered your channel one week ago and I'm really surprise because I like to watch your videos .I can't all understand so far because I'm learning English for 4month but I be able to undestand a little and .I'm disappointed to haven't discovered your videos earlier ?you are truly helpful for me thanks .
A very valid point she made. Native speakers must avoid using idioms and phrases in an international setting, for a simple reason, you are the one who can't speak any other language and others are speaking your language to include you.
Thank you, Christian for this fantastic interview. I agree with Heather and with you 100%.
I think the language is created by great writers because they present the new high ideas for people from all the places of the world. So we need more great writers from different countries writing in English. They will create the global English which is going to be understandable in every part of our planet.
Hi, just became a subscriber yesterday. Can I just say; THANKS VERY MUCH INDEED, for the wonderful content of this video.
Thank you so much Christian for this lesson you know I was really confused when I started to learn English I didn't know which one i have to follow British English or American English or other cuz on RUclips I didn't find a English normal(without accent) so I was lost about to say for example take a shower or have a shower... I wanted just to be able to speak English but instead I was lost in all those videos about english idioms an slang and really make me feeling sad and stupid I just want to ask all those teacher on RUclips to make us English simple and easier because we are tired we just want to comunicate perfectly we don't need accents or idioms or slang please don't make it hard.
Christian, could you believe that, you're the best teacher, that I've ever seen, watch, and listen to...I have to thank you for your efforts. I love to listen to your accent, one day I hope I can speak like you,, I wish you have to have more linguistic experts here.....
A zillion of Thanks, Christ
Christian I've found your channel recently and I just loved it so much! Your approach is so deep and interesting for me as for non-native speaker. That's just so great to listen! Thank you!
Thank you for your work!!! I watch and learn
Thank you very much for your open mind. Actually this video changed many things in my mindset as a foreign English speaker. So thanks a lot
Really it was a useful conversation thanks both of you 🇮🇶 #Iraqi#follower
When I say I would like to speak like an English native speaker, I don't really focus on the result. I focus much more on the process. In other words, I mean I would like to feel like I feel when I speak in my mother tongue (in my case, French). I don't mean I want to parrot anyone. I just want to express myself as naturally, as fluently as possible and I want to be understood, not boring. I want to feel as self-confident as possible and not to get tired after a short while. I don't want to sound like a native English speaker sounds, I want to speak like they speak. It's not the same thing. Such a goal isn't unreachable, is it? It surely requires time and commitment but teachers like you really help. Yes, you do and I THANK YOU.
@Verena Schauer I do agree. Indeed, practice is needed without interruption.. To some extent, you never "know" a language. Either you can think, speak, write using it or you can't.
Do you know Bob Marley's beautiful "Redemption song"?
The verses of this song have a different construction than the ones that we usually hear. Instead of saying "They rob me, he says "They rob I". This happens because of Bob Marley's origin: he comes from Jamaica. In this song you'll hear many times the omission of the "h" sound, for example "But my (h)and was made strong" and "Cause all I ever (h)ave. Despite this ...or maybe that's why it's a wonderful song.
My English skills are average.
I don't understand Edgar Allan Poe without looking in a dictionary after each 5 words. And Oscar Wilde also, BBC also.
But if I hear Christian on this channel, everything is so clear, fragment-paused spoken and I understand 80%- 90% while a drink a cup of coffee.
Why?
I think Christian is a good speaker and also a good teacher!
Thank you, Christian.
Because they speak to be understood, not in frivolous manner.
I have an american friend. I don't understand every exact word she says to me, but I listen to her the whole idea or sentence and we comunicate very well. I understand the main idea. She even says that I am good at English, so my advice is not to translate every single word you read, but read everything as a whole to catch the main idea.
Dude, those books are like 200 years old, no native speaker can read that without help. I'm sure you couldn't read a 200-year-old book in you native language.
@@lauramarin1777 I thank you for this tip and I think it's a good way "idea-guided" to follow a conversation.
Meanwhile I sometimes do it in such a way that I treat a language as a piece of music (e.g. from Mozart) and that I only follow the sound of the language. This does not help understanding (but this is not my aim in this case), but it sensitizes you immensely to the language and takes the pressure to understand everything. (Translation help with google).
Spot on.
Thank you So Much for this video!!!!!!
🎉🎉🎉 for more interview.
I think, to having an accent is problem only in one case-if you're ununderstandable. So, i understand native speakers too. It's little bit difficult to listen to someone who has a "hard" pronunciation. Everyone has to work on it. Good luck all of you.
Thank you both for speaking up the fair view on using and teaching English language. I am Russian and English has become a habit for me from middle school. And I need to confine I teach English while these hard times with the Global unemployment scenario going on as the way to survive. I feel lucky to be at the front edge of the changes to the ETI thanks to such experienced teachers like you! I am a fan of Lucy channel and I can confirm the approach of teaching English is changing right away. I am staying tuned!
That’s an excellent conversation about accent! If you have an accent that means you know another language or languages and maybe I have more skills than you!
Это правда, Зофия
Thank you to both of you for creating this video which highlights so clearly an important aspect of language learning.
I particularly agree with the point that it's native speakers that need to be more mindful of the difficulties second language speakers might have with understanding accent. Native speakers, like me, can reduce their accent with a bit of care and effort, without losing identity or natural sound. Just because we may be lucky to speak the lingua franca language used in international business or other situations, doesn't mean we should take for granted that the second language English speaker will find our accent or vocabulary easy to understand.
Excessive use of idiomatic expressions can create confusion in the mind of the second language speaker, so why use them? This was a great point about idioms, although all languages have them, so I think we still might need to acknowledge them. For more advanced learners, who might have a need to understand more about the culture as well as the language; then idioms, humour, history, etc. all become part of what can make their language learning experience more interesting and useful. Rather than teach them only if students insist, but then never use them with the teacher, I don't think that this is always going to suit those students' needs. In the context of this interview, and the international business communication style of English, then I would agree that idioms and idiomatic expressions are best to be avoided. However, in more social situations such as travelling, making friends, learning more about culture and people; then in these situations some knowledge of COMMONLY USED idioms and idiomatic expressions will be useful to the students. In which case, practising their correct use with the teacher will help them in two ways. Firstly, they will understand these expressions when they hear them, and secondly, they will have FUN with the language when using it themselves. It's not all about just communicating to close a deal or explain processes and policies. I would argue that even in business communication at an operational level between countries there will always be some level of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs that are used as part of the communication. I know this from mainly teaching to in-company clients here in Madrid where I live, who often ask me about phrases they hear in international meetings or on videoconferencing calls.
As the language evolves more, perhaps a "new standard" of international lingua franca English might evolve separately. It would be interesting to hear people's views on this. However, this could then create another form of elitist language for the rich and powerful to further extend their influence.
People will always find a way to communicate what they want if they really have a need to do so, they often do this in very interesting ways that can surprise the the language teacher who is more accustomed to a formal standardised approach to teaching languages.
This is a huge topic in English language teaching and learning. I'll look forward to further debate, ideas and sharing of opinions, knowledge and experiences.
Great interview., eye- opener
The unwritten rule is such that if you go someplace with different language/accent then YOU make an effort to understand and be understood. It's YOUR responsibility. The effort of native speakers is welcome but isn't mandatory and should not be expected. It is close to impossible to be always ready to understand any accent. It is very possible to tune to a particular accent though.
You talk like willing to speak like native speaker is wrong :) There is nothing wrong if one wants to achieve for example South British accent. I agree with you, if you talk almost perfect british/usa accent it DOES NOT mean someone is more intelligent that others. It's just amazing to see people who worked hard to gain second accent.
I am not native English speaker and English is my second language and I really want to work hard to sharpen my English skills and gain second accent and there is nothing wrong with that :)
P.S I love British accents
I don't know why but I feel like I posted little offensive/negative comment :D I didn't want that. I love Canguro English videos and I love Christian's positive attitude
I love it !!!
Me, who is a native English speaker: Going to watch this anyway lol.
A very fruitful talk
Great interview. Thank you!
Very insightful and inspiring, from now on, I can stick to my Chinglish and chinaccent.
Great interview. I’ve seen many successful people who don’t have a perfect accent. Btw, your chair looks very comfy, what brand is that?
May I ask why some specialists on language learning for infants and toddlers say, that just listening (like videos or cartoon episodes) is too passive?
They say you have to interact with the native baby to learn to speak…
Thanks a lot Christian and to this girl too, but one thing that I notice with the majority teachers, when they explain methodes, how to engage with the language English, what is good or not for understand a languaje, what things we have to do or not, etc....is that all of them explain this extremly fast and fast, and not take care about , like in this video, which it is for people learning, who are interested in English language, it is not for Christian. I thing that there are a lot of beginers and intermediates students who would like to have unsderstood Heather Hansen, however so quickly it is impossible. Even though thanks a lot Christian, and thanks a lot H. Hansen.
Accent doesn't matter. People should be proud of their accent, however, correct use of a language is very important in my opinion. Learners should try to expose themselves to as many different accents as possible. Given the digital age that we live in now, this is so easy to do.
I love her brutal honesty for saying 'colonial left-overs' 'white privilege. thanks Christian for engaging in a lively discussion
You do your students a disservice if you don' t teach them common idioms. Knowledge of these s idioms is essential to understanding English speakers. She is right about the dysfunctional industry that has done a lot of damage to the profession.
Completely agree, idioms are baked in language.
6:00 You may want to speak a standard American because you find the language beautiful. There's no discrimination, just a matter of taste.
Graciosa tu anécdota en esa conferencia donde habia gente del sur de España, ellos tienen un acento diferente y algunos sonidos los pronuncian ligeramente diferentes, las CH por ejemplo
The English language industry is made for the people never learn to speak the idiom, because while are studying since the kinder garden until the university we learning the same (only grammar). That's the reason because in my country is a big business to learn English language.
Can you add subtitle in your video. My listenning skill is not really good cuz i'm beginner. Thank u very much.
You can turn on auto generated caption..
This "Great Debate" about the "English Language" seems to center around the "Spoken Language."
Last night I had an interesting discovery about the "Spoken Language" of Germany. See www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/dialektatlas/s-8150, namely from Deutsche Welle about the Dialects of German through out Europe. Then some time ago there was a "Great Debate" going on in Switzerland about which should be the 2nd language learned by the students? Another Official Language of the country (there are 4) or English? See Swiss Information Services web site.
What I was curios about with all of these spoken dialects of the German Language in Europe, was, how many I could understand, from the times I was first exposed or learned them as a child or from the time-to-times I would go back to Europe and speak them?
The English Language is not any different. I do recall a time as I had my interview at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. The first people I met, spoke to me in English, since they knew ahead of time I was arriving from North America. It was the Queen's English we amused ourselves with, until I told them that just came from a Goethe Institute German Language School in northern Germany and had passed by German as a 2nd Language Certificates through CII. And Yikes, I as a child grew up in this part of Germany and perfectly understood the local Frieburg's Baden Würtemberg's spoken dialect. It made for a rather charming conversation and first interview, with all of the curtesies. The written Language as I was reading through the German Language texts, required me to pull out my Duden's German Dictionary from time to time.
Going to Basel, and Freiberg Switzerland was another interesting event, that challenged my Allemanisch Dialect understandings. To offset those confusions, the academic professionals wanted to speak English with me. Which I found an acceptable accommodation to the local spoken dialect language of German.
The same holds to day with my next door neighbors from Mexico and their form of the spoken English Language or my my less than perfect understandings of Spanish from Mexico. For when I speak Spanish it is almost always with an Italian accent. I suggest that comes from all of those Italian Operas I had to listen to as a child on Saturdays when going to the Opera Houses in Europe.
👏👏👏
Could you tell me the name of Jennifer Jenkins'books that were mentioned in this video?
These are my favorites:
1) The Phonology of English as an International Language
2) English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity
Another interesting one if you are involved with universities is:
3) English as a Lingua Franca in the International University
@@heatherhansen Thanks so much
Has it ever occured to you that an executive is just privileged enough to speak however they want? It's not the case for a poor girl from suburbs of a third-world country. Social hierarchy is cruel but it's not going to change from the language industry. It's about economics. Many people, few resources, here we go, competition on every level. And yes, if that girl wants to have access to higher levels compared to her parents, she'll have to pretend to be wealthier and more educated - and that might include a different accent. She won't feel bad about her inappropriate pronunciation. She'll feel bad about her social background, chronic stress and probably violence she got from her parents, fewer educational opportunities, etc. And she'd better evaluate her social position correctly, otherwise she'll quickly become a victim of fraud or another abusive relationship. No, you can't eliminate social inequality by pretending it doesn't exsit.
I would like to participating from your English practicing group. Could you furnish me with the link, please?
What do you call my daughter born in venezuela but i have spoken to her in English since she was conceived and is fluent. Is she a native?
No, foreigner English speaker…
Within the actual situation about people all around the world fighting against racism, inequalities over race, and culture, against violence. I truly believe this is the right moment to take this topic further. We need to have this conversation, to listen and respect everyone in their specific way to recall for a more open mind, essentially and especially in the education we are getting and teaching. We need to teach respect, love, and maybe this change can help to reduce all these feelings of anger, hate, and how people see each other. Of course, it will not solve all the problems, but I know that teachers have great power and while we keep teaching this kind of discriminatory content like speaking like American Native or perfect English, so we'll still have other problems to solve in our societies.
YES. ❤️❤️❤️
That's it !!!
I really want to speak in English . 😢 but it 's difficult for me
Props!
I think proper pronunciation of any language all that matters than native accent!!!
make Spanish the language of business is clear and direct in every single aspect better !
Really cool
Accents are cute, as long your grammar is close to right, and your effort to get the clear pronunciation is there. Otherwise, we seem we are dumb. 😂 Says the Brazilian bilingual who still hates to roll my tongue. I consider myself bilingual because I dream in English when in Canada or US. And I understand Australian 😂 It took me years. And I don’t get Black English.
I'm so sorry but I don't see your point. To my mind we should preserve our language just as we protect our artistic heritage.
Try to learn canguru english .good .srilanka
She deserves a TED talk
Neither grammar nor Accent matters, as long as you're understood.
Like N° 1000 for you Christian !!
The answer to students with obsessed with NATIVE STYLE OF SPOKEN SKILL, SKIP TO 27:00
👏🏼
When two non-native English speakers are having conversation and they understand each other well, then they speak English perfectly...better than native speakers who speak with very sophisticated english words which confused non native.
yeah
What if the two non native English speaker don't understand each other because their accent being that strong and they don't want to change that? If everyone tried to listen to native English accents and mimic it better, maybe more people could understand each other better. 😊
I suppose you guys have been living under a rock for quite some time because modern English textbooks teach modern English that's actually spoken in the world. RP hasn't been a thing for quite a while. They teach either something that's called Standard Southern British English or General American. In every single book there are audios, videos where different people are featured, such as, Chinese people speaking English, Australians, Russians, etc. Accent and dialect differences are pointed out all the time
you know, you both use "you know" too often)
Thank you Christian for all the good teachings I got from you. I really like what you're standing for. However, what this lady is telling looks to me as a weird attempt to bring into the language learning sphere something rather divisive. I'm a non-native speaker and I've never felt English as something 'oppressive' or 'colonial'. I don't care if the actual cultural dominance of English is still derivative from the colonial era. Ok, that's her judgment and I respect her judgment as such as long as she isn't obliging me to feel like a kind of 'victim' of a whole 'system'. Well, I'm not. Like Epictetus once said: 'you can only be hurt by an oppressor if you feel yourself a victim'. I don't see myself as a victim (I'm not suffering from cultural setbacks and so on). I just want to improve my pronunciation because I would like to be better understood. That's all. I'm not interested of course in sounding like 'a native'. After all, what is a native? a football hooligan from Manchester? or someone still wearing a bowler hat from the city? I really don't know. I don't want to be divided along cultural lines. I'm just a foreigner to all those things. An individual, making his own choices and who doesn't want to be bound by any group identity.
As an English language teacher this is a constant frustration for me. A significant number of my students are obsessed with acquiring a native accent. I try to explain to them that the goal should always be to be understood, if someone can understand you then your accent is perfect. Despite this, I am always met with such resistence and, at times, disappointment when I say this to them and they are so reluctant to let go of this idea.
Because they want to "feel" British or American in a way. They want that idea of belonging. There is nothing wrong with that. Why is it so hard for English teachers to teach them your accent and correct theirs if they would be more confident or motivated by that? Why some English teacher want their students to keep their strong foreign accent if the students themselves want to change it, why not to help them instead of saying, your accent is just fine be happy with it?! Sometimes it is just not fine at all. I struggle to understand some of my friends from Indian area for example, that's why it would be nice if people would care about it and study at least a standardised accent so people could understand each other better. Don't forget that a non native English speaker tends to speak better in the company of a native English speaker. Why? Because it gives them confidence by mimicing the good example subconsciously they have in front in them. I don't think you should discourage your students loosing their foreign accent if they don't want to sound Spanish while speaking English!
Help me, I need speak English...
I couldn't agree with any of the things she said. We can't be going around saying: I don't care about grammar, just because some big shot ceo can get away with it doesn't mean she should start encouraging everybody to do the same.
The idea is that learners of English shouldn't let grammar be an obstacle that prevents them from communicating confidently.
@@lailariad1869 there is a point when communication in any way is more important than grammar and there is a point where grammar gets more important especially in a high level of a role like a CEO. They just can't be that ignorant not to be bothered using the right grammar out of ignorance or laziness. Because at the end the language itself will loose it's identity...
No. If I spoke like a native, people non in English speaking country -and even those from diverse English speaking country with various accents- would not understand me. International English is a differente language from that of native speakers. And I could not care less about the English language proper.
Would you like to come to my school and check out our English? It would be great!
It's time to break this Idea that only exactly In native accent is enough to be comprehensible. A lingua Franca needs to be at least a bit more flexible to everybody use it.
Take the Italian Educational system and its "old-fashioned" school. Teachers who do not get appropriate training. Unmotivated students. Uneffective approach. None of this helps. Learning is more than simply being shown how to do something or focusing on useless information. Not only global English but also loads of other potential skills: we need to really focus on the learner from all point of views. That's where a good teacher makes the difference! Teachers should build passion through a systematic and well-structured approach. They need to consider every single perspective! This global approach will stop any kind of discrimination!
For me grammar does matter but accent does not matter. In my opinion that CEO was wrong. Just because you run a fortune 500 company is no excuse for bad grammar, that just plain laziness. Grammar is important not the accent or how you pronouciation the words.
For example if you boss asks you to finish an important financial document that needs to be handed in a hour but he words it incorrectly and uses the wrong past or future tense and then you don't do it and deadline passes because you think you have time. He or she then comes up to you and fires because you did not get it done.
Imagine if you a client in a bank and the bank manager user incorrect grammar and you end up signing something you did not mean to sign.
Let's be clearly I am not talking about accent or pronouciation just the grammar.
Hi, Cristian, It was amazing to listen to your conversation with Heather. I totally agree with you both. I found this other TED Talk also really interesting: ruclips.net/video/Ge7c7otG2mk/видео.html Cheers
If she were to speak in an Indian accent nobody would've listened to her. Including you reading. Think about that finger at the temple I made my point
I think this woman is a little bit crazy)
No, she's just a little too woke.
It is said that grammar was constructed to create class, exclusivity.
I just watched a Rachel's English video called "Best English Accent - Speak like a Native Speaker" Some parts made me a bit uncomfortable, I know she's not mocking her students but it's a bit cringy. Rachel is like polar opposite of Heather lol I am thinking that's a little too much even for me.
Yeah, you don't neet to know grama as you don't need be smart or read books as long as you're happy. You can be dump but rich. Is it that you try to say ?
Christian. I understand that your concern with the matter has been poorly handled. It was not correct to expose Lucy in this way. It was not necessary to do this. You should handle the matter without using her name and image. I recognize as important your concern with the teaching of the English language and the imposition of normative and exclusive forms promoted by the language teaching industry.
In any case, there are students of the English language who wish to learn commercial ways to use the English language and Lucy tried to meet this demand and did so with the best of intentions.
The correct thing now is to retract and seek to repair the damage done to Lucy and her followers in the best possible way possible.
I wish your channel success.
Hi! I'm one of lucy's followers and Christian too, I don't see why you're making of it a big fuss. Christian is in the right position to tell if is there something wrong in the business and he did what he thaught is right, and Lucy she recognized and even apologized with an exemplary fair play. this afternoon they talked to each other, lady to a gentleman. to me, both of them now are bigger than they were. I hope that they're gonna make something together for us, I'm sure if they do is gonna be lit.
I'm not sure what Lucy has to do with this. They are discussing a major issue in the ESL industry, not Lucy. You're the one bringing her up. Besides, no one "exposed" her. She is a public figure, and people are allowed to critique the statements of people with a large following who make statements from a place of authority. It's good to have free debate and your statements challenged.
Hello teacher. Just remember that because you're a native English speaker, you can understand some people who are speaking in not good pronunciation. For someone like me who is talking English as a Second Language, it would be difficult.
That seems logical, but you actually have some special super powers as a non-native speaker! 💪💪
Non-native speakers are usually more accepting of a wider range of sounds and hear many more varieties of English than native speakers. Non-native speakers usually understand each other more easily than a native speaker would. Interesting, isn’t it? When we moved to Singapore, my husband adapted to the language much faster than I did!
Heather Hansen Thank you. You right.
@@heatherhansen Actually I think this is not true. I have my friend's husband who I don't understand after 4 years of knowing him. We meet regurarly but still it is very much of a struggle for me to understand him. There are accents that are not clearly understandable for everyone, like Indian or French. Also, a language learner can get exhausted more easily even after just listening to different people's accents especially if that differs from the accent they learnt English in the school. I can sometimes totally understand English people not being able to understand foreigners as there are accents just not clear enough - this applies to grammar mistakes as well when one's point of view cannot get across clearly. Interestingly we have the same thing in Hungary, a very few people study it as a second language and when somebody speaks it in a strange accent to our ears, we can't even guess a word not alone attach a meaning to it (yes there are different levels to this of course). Going back to English, I think it is nice to have a confidence to start speaking (and it is also fine making mistakes but one should learn from those mistakes) but it is not enough if someone would like to say that I am good at it. I also think if we don't bother learning the right grammar then English as a language could loose it's identity. Also, if someone reached a position of a CEO, clearly they could try harder mastering their English skills, that wouldn't hurt their business...
This is absolutely amazing, this means a lot to all of us who every day put this passion and love in learning English as a second language, thank you!
(Edited: I don't mean that I wanna learn in a wrong way, what I really mean is this message is like a relief, I feel less pressure, and knowing that out there are Teachers who have this in mind and who cares about it, this just encourage me to keep learning)
yeah, totally agree!!
I am an English teacher in France . I lived in Kenya for two years and was lucky to have American and British friends . As my friends say , I have a mid-Atlantic accent. My students like my accent . They were disappointed when I told them that I was not a native speaker.
Thank you very much for this fantastic conversation with Heather. It's not easy to be a non native speaker and you keep hearing: where are you from? your accent? etc. There are moments when you feel fed up with that. Anyway, I keep learing English because I believe that one day I 'll be good at it ☺ xx
I grew up in Australia, speaking Australian English. I am currently trying to learn to speak and read Russian. Don't undermine yourself, you will develop to speak your own personal kind of English. Accents and grammar are dynamic anyway. The only thing that matters is that you can communicate with others in a common language. English has its strange exceptions, just like other languages.
This whole conversation about accent reduction, bad English, and all is indeed a complex issue. My thoughts can't be summed up in a single comment, I know. However, I would like to mention some points:
About grammar part: Non-native speakers have been told that grammar matters a lot when it comes to building English language skills. And, after living with this thought continuously, we seriously start believing it all the way; and, after studying so much grammar, subconsciously, we take pride in judging people's English grammar skills.
About accent part: The wrong obsession of having a native-like accent is so deep that it IS a kind of language-learning pandemic, according to me. Non-native speakers of English are made to feel highly inferior because of this accent prejudice. And it's so sickening.
Bad English: Yes, understanding and communicating matter in the first place -- everything else has to be secondary. But, being a Curriculum Developer (ESL), can I afford to use casual grammar in my grammar materials? I am afraid I can't. And, for the accent part, we don't need to lose our accent! We need to study or know about the pronunciation aspects (IPA, word stress, sentence stress, and so on) to make ourselves better understood....
P.S.: The prevalent prejudice, which is discussed in the video, is so deep that it has rubbed off on non-native English speakers.... We non-native speakers are also responsible for this long-held prejudice in one way or the other.
I totally get what the topic means and how relevant it is to raise awareness to minimize discrimination against non-native accents.But, I´m wondering if over time, the language can loose its beautiful structure and complexity when we take things to some extreme extent all over the world. It´s great and absolutely valid to explore all kinds of speaking without being afraid about judgments, but also it´s wonderful to keep the language structure. My point is people are lazy by nature and they can adhere to the 'lazy' language and bury over the centuries the complex language that was developed up to now. This would be a shame.
"My vocabulary is thicker than yours":)))
I guess the way is the balance between book (formal) and streets (informal), and always to avoid prejudice.
Do u speak or u r a student.