Why pretend English grammar is scary?!

I’m really amazed at the number of websites providing information for people wanting to learn English. Many of them are really great.

I’ve also seen some which make me think “Why are they teaching THAT?!”  These are websites which go into so much detail on perfect grammar that they become pointless.

Of course you should always learn and use good grammar – particularly when writing – but some of the more complex points of grammar, are, to be honest, not very useful in everyday life. 

I’ve seen one site which explains the difference between “whoever and whomever”  and where to use “that” or where to use “which” instead.

If you’re writing a postgraduate academic paper, then your grammar and choice of words must be precise and correct down to this detail. For everyday real life, it really doesn’t matter….and I say that as someone with  an honours degree in English language and literature, who’s been working as a commuications skills trainer for many years!

There really seem to be some people out there trying to make a black art out of English grammar, creating the frightening  impression that unless you know your whomsoevers from your whereupons and never end a sentence with  a preposition, you’ll appear illiterate, and be speaking sub-standard English. 

It’s just not true.  Don’t be scared by English grammar: most native speakers often get it wrong – even the educated ones.  Focus on communicating and expressing the meaning of what you want to say as fully and clearly as possible. Grammar is there to help communicate…not to scare you into not saying anything in case you get it wrong.

What are they TALKING about?!

One thing that speakers of English as a second language will discover (speakers of ANY second language, in fact) is that there is a big difference between the language learned in the classroom, and the language spoken everyday in homes, shops, businesses and amongst friends and family.

This is because of several things:

Slang – we use words in everyday speech which are not taught in the classroom. The choice of these words will vary between individuals. I often say  ‘fab’ instead of ‘good’ or ‘great’. My son will say ‘cool!’ 

These slang words will also vary according to age group – teenagers and younger people use different slang words to adults (and sometimes even native speaking adults have trouble understanding them!)

Background:  the area that the person is from will also affect their choice of words.

Idioms: these are phrases and sayings that people will use which often do not translate. For example, a British person might say “It’s no good crying over spilt milk”  which means “there is no point getting upset about something which has already happened, because we can’t do anything about it”. The word ‘peckish’  means “slightly hungry – perhaps hungry enough for a small snack, but not hungry enough to eat a meal”. I’ll be starting a Blog strand on these very soon!

Accent: there are many different accents across the UK. My own accent is a neutral one (you can’t tell where in the country I am from). Different accents literally affect the vowel and consonant sounds that speakers are making, often making them difiicult to understand. I was at a friend’s wedding in the Midlands recently, and a young girl said in a strong Brimingham accent to my daughter (who has a Scottish accent) “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t understand a word you’re saying!”

Speed of speech: native speakers will tend to speak the language faster than you.  Or, if you are not yet used to the patterns of everyday speech, they will speak faster than you can translate into your own language.

It can come as a shock, when you have learned English, to discover that you can’t understand what native speakers are saying. 

I found the same thing when I was learning French: in the classroom, I understood what was being said, and when I spoke French to my English friends, I understood. I was, in fact, being taught French my an English lady…who was of course teaching me to speak French with an English accent!

When I went to France, it was a different matter – I didn’t understand what ANYONE was saying when I first arrived.

The main thing for me at that time, and the main thing for speakers of English as a second language, is to LISTEN as closely as possible to native speakers as often as possible. News bulletins, movies, TV shows – anything will do – just to get used to hearing the everyday language spoken by native speakers. Be a little careful though – the language of TV shows and movies is dramatic, and might not be what people would actually say in ‘real life’. As a listening exercise, though, they are useful.

Keep a watch out on this blog for more information – I’m going to be developing YouTube clips and webcasts in the future, to demonstrate some of these things!

Annabelle B

Speaking Better English

Well well well. Here I am at my new blog, all about speaking English as a second language, and speaking it confidently and well. Pronouncing English vowels, pronouncing English consonants, spoken English grammar, how to correct common mistakes – I’ll be talking about them all.

Today’s top tip for learning to speak English really well (or any language for that matter) is to listen.  REALLY listen to how  a native speaker speaks. How are they forming the sounds in their mouths? How does their voice rise and fall as they speak? How quickly or slowly do they speak?

Learning to speak better English is about more than just learning vocabulary and grammar. It’s about listening.

Make sure you listen to the right things though: movies and TV shows might NOT be the type of English you want  to speak. I have a cousin who picked up some new vocabulary from a movie, and didn’t realise she had learned to swear!

Listening to a language is the only way to really learn it – and listening to a native speaker is always the best.  I speak French (badly) with an English accent. Why? Because my French teacher was an English woman. I speak better Cantonese because I learned that in Hong Kong, surrounded by native speakers.

SO, whatever stage of English you’ve reached, focus on LISTENING first, and you may be amazed what you learn.

Annabelle  B