The Environment Around a Person - Essay Example

Journal 7 The environment around a person contributes to how well they speak at that particular time. A setting that accepts and appreciates the speaker contributes to his/her fluency and also increases the confidence of the speaker.  English is my second language and more often the setting around me affects how well I communicate in English. For instance, most native English speakers will crack jokes about how non-natives pronounce various words. However, not all natives have this character, and some are willing to help the non-natives by politely correcting them.

A non-native exposed to a supportive environment is more likely to learn good English twice as first as a non-native exposed to a less supportive setting. Nevertheless, it is the primary responsibility of the non-natives to work hard to attain good pronunciations and grammar. They should practice word pronunciations and be ready to learn from the natives. Pronouncing words slowly is a working solution towards overcoming an accent, and it has a mutual advantage since the listener can understand, and the speaker perfects on better pronunciations of English words.

Non-native speakers experience word selection problems while conversing with other people. Poor word selection can lead to the listener failing to understand the speaker or creating wrong perceptions. The sentences below show how of wrong pronunciation of words by non-natives creates a wrong understanding to the listener. Non-native: having a “desert” makes me happy and I look forward to having one each time. - Most non-natives have problems pronouncing the word dessert and pronounce it as the desert that would create a new meaning to the sentence.

Avoiding such words and using simple terms is necessary for the non-native to converse clearly. It would have been easier for a non-native to say “I enjoy taking something different after the main meal” A native speaker would have clearly understood the meaning of Non-native: I “accept” the terms and conditions. – Non-natives have problems pronouncing the words accept and expect and in such a sentence, the wrong pronunciation would affect the meaning to the listener. Using a different word such as “I agree with the terms and conditions” would have been easier to pronounce, and the listener would have understood.

In conclusion, the people around a non-native speaker can be very influential to how well he/she learns English. The correct choice of words is crucial for the effectiveness of dialogues and better communication.