Why Native English Speakers Can't Understand Your English
Hey, what is up naturals, how are you? Welcome to my new office
We're still working on the decor. This video is all about why some people
Yes, I don't mean for this to be a negative video
I don't mean for this to be making fun of you or to say that your English is bad
It's not if you can understand me right now
Your English is awesome. But we've all been there. Even when we speak a language really well
Like I speak Portuguese really well
But there have been situations where I'm trying to communicate and the person I'm trying to speak with doesn't
Understand me. So in this video, I'm gonna share many many many many many many different reasons. Why
native English speakers and even other non-native English speakers anyone who's speaking English with you might not
Not to make fun of you not to tell you how horrible your English is
but actually to point out these very specific reasons so that you can fix them and you can do better and
Each day, you can improve your English
Because each day you're learning English a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit more and after this video
You're gonna be a lot better in English
You're gonna be able to fix these errors
That you may be making that may be confusing other people and your English fluency is going to improve
So much. So if it's okay for me to share these points with you, then let's do it
so I remember when I was in Brazil a few months ago, I went to the supermarket and
This memory is the whole reason for this video. I remember I went to the supermarket looking for cilantro and
I actually learned Spanish before I learned Portuguese. So I was thinking cilantro is this same?
in Portuguese big mistake big mistake on my part
I know Portuguese is not the same as Spanish, but sometimes there are some words that are the same for example
Amigo is in Spanish and Portuguese
Anyway, I wasn't looking for a friend in the supermarket I was looking for
Cilantro in English is cilantro in Spanish
But I asked in Brazil for cilantro and the guy the supermarket had no idea what I was talking about
Just like what and I kept saying it a slightly different
Cilantro and you're just like no girl. I don't understand anything you're saying
what are you talking about crazy gringa but
finally after I left the supermarket without
cilantro I
Was able to look up this word in a portuguese dictionary
And I finally realized just not cilantro at all that cilantro in English is Quinto in Portuguese
So yay now, I know how to say his launcher in Portuguese, and I'll never forget because of that situation
but that is one reason why some people may not
Understand you in English because you may be using what's called a false
Cognates or a false friend. We don't want no false friends
Excuse my bad grammar. That's just
You know how we talk sometimes because why not?
We would not like any false friends. Let's
Correct grammar here. All right. This is this is some serious English learning. So be careful of false
Cognates in English. So for example
Another one in French would be like a tongue is not to attend
Although they're very similar. That's a false friend or false cognate in English or like Oh,
Not library in English. It's the bookstore
so even though library sounds like love leader dia or
Sorry for my French accent. It's not the same. It's a different thing or like in French
The magazine is not a magazine in English. It's a store
So I think these things are so interesting what I learned actually, is that in a store
They used to sell magazines and maybe that's where the word magazine came from. I don't know. I think it's interesting
so if you know any other false cognates or false friends in
English that come from your language
Write them in the comments. Let's learn from each other
Another reason why people might not be able to understand your English is a lack of correct
stress in English is super important even more important in my opinion than
Pronunciation well stress is a kind of pronunciation. But what I mean is stress is more important than
Individual letter sounds so let me give you an example. I
which is a state in the middle of the United States if
I said the same sounds but with a different stress it would be
Sadness, so if I said I live in misery
that's a completely different meaning and
Conversation you'd probably think that I had problems
I'm probably depressed and I go I need to go get some help
So people might not understand you if you have the wrong syllable stress, so be careful about that
also, if you have the wrong vowel sound going on in your words vowels are super confusing but also
Very very very important in English. I remember once when I was living in Boston, and I went to a salon and
I wanted to get my eyebrows waxed and the woman there
She was a non-native English speaker in English was super good
But she had some issues with vowel sounds and she asked me if I wanted my brows the sue shit
And I was like the SIM chip. What is that? What is the sim ship brow?
I just wanted a simple, you know brow waxing and I was like, I don't know the sim ship just oh
Shape she was asking if I wanted my brows to be the same shape or if I wanted them to be shaped
Differently ladies, you know what I'm talking about when you go get your brows done. This is very important matter
You don't want any misunderstandings
But I finally figured it out. She's asking if I wanted the same
Vowel sounds so if you don't make the right vowel sound people might not understand you in English
So be careful with those vowels out there. You could be messing up people's brows. That's that's dangerous
Another reason why some people might not understand your English is actually your English might be from a different
Region, so you might actually know a different English than they do
for example, if you're out here in Missouri where I'm living and you start using British English, you're like
Hey mate want to have a chinwag?
Or what? I'm horrible at British English but a chinwag is not something that someone is gonna understand out here
I think that means to chat if you start using some regional English from
another country like saying mates or a chinwag or to take the
Piss out of someone. That's just something that we don't
Understand out here unless of course
We've been to the UK or Australia or we have more exposure
But if you're speaking in a way, that's not common where you are
Currently some people might not understand you. So keep that in mind when I was teaching English in Japan to
Scientists, I had one of my students super super smart
Woman super brilliant with science and language and everything using really academic
words and once she asked me how
Homeostasis was and she just wanted to ask how are you but instead she was using this really academic words
so if you're using overly academic words
People might not understand what you're saying. So keep it simple. Keep it clear
another reason how people might not understand what you're saying is if you're using
Overly complicated verb tenses. So if you're trying to use these really
Advanced grammar structures and you're like last Tuesday
I had had a taco for dinner. I would be waiting
For you to finish your thought because had-had
Is not really a verb tense that we would just use on its own like that there would be something else
Coming something like you had had a taco and then what?
We just need a simple pass there. I had a taco. That's it. Great. I would love a taco right now. I'm so hungry
Keep it simple. Keep it simple with your vocabulary. Keep it simple with your verb tenses
Let's not overcomplicate things. Let's keep it clear and simple now on the other hand
Possibly most common reason why some other people might not understand your English
It's actually not even about you. It's about
Especially if you come to a smaller city
You may meet people who have never left their city. You may be people who have never been to another country or
Spoken to people who are not from their state
you may meet people who have never spoken to someone who speaks English as a
Second language and there's some things that are a little different about the way that you communicate
They might just not be used to it. So it's actually then they're not used to you and it's not really your fault
So if you meet someone who's never been out of the United States?
Or if you meet someone who has never tried to learn another language or never had the opportunity to learn another language
They don't really know as much as you do about communication
so give them a break be patient explain yourself in different words and
What they can teach you and what you can teach them
Anyway, I hope that these suggestions these specific points will help you to understand why some people might not be understanding
Remember, it might not even be about you
But the things that you can control are things like learning about common
vocabulary that we use in different regions
you know use the words that people commonly use where you are think about syllables stress think about
false cognates be careful with those
Using simple tenses. Don't try to over complicate things using academic words
Oh, and of course, keep it clear
keep it simple and speak confidently speak loud enough so that people
Can actually hear you obviously people won't understand what you're saying if they can't hear you in the first place
so be loud be proud make eye contact and
Help other people to understand you because you have so much to share with the world
You are awesome, and we want to know all about you where you're from your life
So let's keep it going. If you like this video if you found it helpful
Share it. Leave a comment like it subscribe do all the things
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English train and I will see you soon in another video. Bye for now