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Most language learners think of native speakers as the
gold standard. Almost everybody prefers having a native language teacher, and
almost everybody wants to be able to speak like a native speaker. When
comparing opinions of native and non-native speakers on a concrete language
issue, almost everybody will consider the first to be right. Just by virtue of
being a native speaker, we ascribe an almost perfect linguistic competency to
him or her.
Think about fellow native speakers of your own
language. You will need to agree to the following, even grudgingly. There are
many native speakers
· That commit even
elementary grammar mistakes,
·
That have a very
limited vocabulary,
·
That have a
terrible pronunciation,
·
That have never
learned how to spell properly,
·
That speak in an
“ugly”, vulgar manner,
·
That have speech
defects like stuttering,
·
That are afraid
of speaking in public or on the phone,
·
That would find
writing a school essay or even an official letter too demanding.
On the other hand, many non-native speakers excel in
the above. Joseph Conrad become one of the most important British novelists,
although he was a Polish immigrant and achieved fluency in English only in his
twenties. Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger become not only a movie star, but
also governor of the state of California. Former Georgian president Mikheil
Saakashvili fleed to Ukraine and become a regional governor and political star
there.
There are, however, some aspects that native speakers
almost without exception do better than foreigners. If you want to speak like a
native, start working systematically on them. All are, of course,
generalizations. But, remember the saying: exceptions confirm the rule.
·
They do not have
ambitions to produce intentionally long, convoluted and grammatically
complicated sentences. One- or two-word sentences are fine, if not the norm in
day-to-day conversations and keep them flowing. Non-native speakers, because
they are preparing their next “impressive” sentence in their head, will be less
inclined to throw in small comments to sustain the conversation.
·
They stick to one
accent. Non-native speakers often think they need to be able to speak in all
accents, or in no specific one. Instead of choosing one model for their accent,
they expose themselves haphazardly to all kinds of models via Youtube. A native
speaker has had exposure to a limited numbers of models (typically, his or her
parents).
·
A native speaker
is not anxious about forgetting or not knowing words. He or she just
paraphrases, or says this thing here. A non-native speaker becomes blocked in
such situation.
·
Native speakers
are better in constructing their own sentences. They have, since childhood, had
years of playing with words and combining them into sentences. Non-native
speakers want to shortcut this process and they often jump to memorizing whole
phrases and sentences.
·
Native speakers
focus on production. Even if they would have never read a book or watched a
movie, they are constantly producing speech: in speaking and thinking foremost.
Most language students think they need to consume first as much as possible,
and when they produce speech, they predominantly do this in writing (because it
seems more “serious” and more easily checkable).
·
Native speakers
started learning their language by ear, and only later visually; which is a
natural succession. Most language learners do it the other way round, and
wonder, why they always seem to be stuck in the learning process.
If you like the attitude of these
articles, please check out my
online courses : at the moment, German for English, Russian and Romanian speakers, as well as on
goal-setting.
If you are interested in improving your
English in the area of business presentations, I know of no better address than
Tom Antion. Please check him out following this link.
Stay tuned!
Gerhard
The GO Method
The GO Method applies quality management and psychological
science to the study of foreign languages. It helps students establish
individual and clear goals, build learning routines, overcome psychological
obstacles, monitor progress and systematize the learning process.
It is the perfect approach for high performer students that
need to speak as closely as possible to a native speaker. From lesson one, it
focuses on building your own sentences bottom-up, and not memorizing phrases
like a parrot.
Gerhard J. Ohrband
Psychologist and polyglot from Hamburg /Germany (*1979).
Married with children. MA in psychology from the University of Hamburg. More
than 15 years of experience as a university lecturer in psychology as well as a
consultant for UNICEF, Terre des Hommes, IOM, the EU and private companies.
Coordinator of the GO Method network, with representatives in more than 90
countries worldwide.
Contact
If you want to save time in learning a foreign language
without a teacher, please check out my book “The GO Method” on Amazon.
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