How to improve communication skills (for non-native speakers)

Being in a Global workplace non-native speakers cannot avoid communication with the native speaker. It does not matter that how strong work ability or talent you have, if you can not communicate with your co-workers there are very little chances of achieving your goal.

Here are some useful tips of improving communication skills:-

• The first and the main point is that do not worry at all about your non-native accent of English.
• Be confident of what you are saying, Confidence is the main key of improving your English. Do not be shy of making mistakes because a person always learn by making mistakes.
• Be a good learner, always try to gain knowledge about English words, for example from Hoardings, Advertisements boards,etc. Try to read English newspapers to improve your fluency and watch English sub-title movies or serials to improve your listening skills.
• Do not be afraid of talking with native speakers, it is because the more you interact with the native speakers the more get to know their accents and the more you get practiced.
• While sitting in a group of people always try to take active part in the conversation, do not hesitate of becoming a source of laugh or do not undermine yourself. This may have some adverse affects on your personality and attitude.
• Try to be a close friend of a native speaker. The person with whom you can share your secrets, your joys and sorrows. This can be really helpful because interacting with that person on a daily can improve your level of English naturally. Keep on asking that person about the accent and mistakes you make.

At last but not the least, i can only say that practice practice practice, because practice is the only key that makes a Man Perfect

English as a Second Language (ESL)

No doubt that language barrier is the main problem for communication between the native and non-native speakers. So, to tackle this problem several Universities and Colleges are providing an additional course specially to international students, which is Named as ESL.

Now what ESL stands for, it simply means English as a second language. There are even online lessons on ESL.

There are a lot of videos on you-tube about the ESL lessons, making it easier for the non-native speakers to learn more about the English language. As the one above these lessons on you-tube are worth watching and really very helpful.

Those who feel that they need to improve their their level of English, they should take these additional courses courses provided by their colleges and Universities to help them.

For the people who are not studying in colleges should go for ESL lessons provided by you-tube to improve their level of English.

Now why ESL lessons are essential ???

As we know that language barrier is the main problem for communication between the native and the non-native speakers, this problem have some devastating effects,

• Increasing misunderstanding.
• Hesitation to communicate with each other, this may lead to increasing number of lost opportunities for the non-native speakers.
• Hindering our ability of being a successful person in life.
• Increasing level of frustration.

So to tackle these problems, ESL is a must for non-native English speakers.

How to become a good listener (for native speaker)

For listeners it is really a hard job to communicate with the non-native speakers and to understand them.

Here are some tips for native listeners to become good listeners of non-native speakers:-

• Have a proper eye contact:- It is a very essential part for a listener to have a proper eye contact with the speaker, to understand him easily and to avoid misunderstandings and to encourage the speaker.
• Be silent and just listen:- when you are communicating with a non-native speaker, be silent and listen carefully to encourage communication.
• Give the speaker space to express his thoughts:- As non-native speakers need some time to find words to express their thoughts, so be patient and allow them the needed time so that they can explain their thoughts well.
• Encourage the speaker with your body language:- Being silent and nodding your head, to indicate that you are understanding what the speaker is saying will encourage him to continue with confidence.
• Do not interrupt the speaker:- while the speaker is trying to convey his words, do not interrupt him in between. This can even interrupt the conversation and pose a negative impact of you on the speaker and even discourage him.
• Be attentive:- Always be attentive and at least try look like being attentive if you cannot really be. If the speaker finds that you are not attentive he will think that you are not interested in what he is trying to say.
• Give proper feed-back:- To let the speaker know that you are listening keenly and finding interest in the conversation and to encourage him to continue, you should give proper feed-back at certain points in between the conversation.

These are some of the key points for native speakers to become good listeners of non-native speakers.

What problem non-native speakers basically have.

There are a broad range of knowledge that non-native speakers find at the workplace.

There are language problems, there are problems related to culture, socioeconomic problems and even problems related to rules and regulations of that country as they are totally new to that country. Language and cultural problems are the most significant problem that the non-native speakers face in a new country, because these are the two things that are personally attached to a person and changing from these two things is very difficult for a person. The main challenge for them is how to keep their own culture and language alive, keeping in mind that they should respect and adopt the language and culture the new country to get the best possible results.

If we talk about language problems, the main problem they face is of pronunciation. Pronunciation problem is basically caused by the divergence in the phonology of the non-native speakers. This problem of intonation can have some devastating effects and can make the conversation uncomfortable and unpleasant sometimes. often the use of inappropriate intonation among the non-native speakers can cause several misunderstandings sometimes.Apart from Language and Culture, Socioeconomic problem also troubles them.

Many immigrants have a false understanding that in a new country they are unable to get more than any thing from low-paying jobs. It is often the case that foreign qualification are not recognized in the native country.

There is another problem related rules and regulations, many immigrants often find it hard to follow the new rules and regulations to which they are not used to, and are always afraid of doing anything illegal by mistake.

These are some of the basic problems that the non-native speakers face in a new country.

How to communicate with non-native speakers

As non-native people find several difficulties while communicating with the native speakers, Native English speakers should come ahead to help their non-native counter parts in several ways.

Not all non-native speakers have trouble communicating with native people, many of them are capable of taking at native level. The ability to communicate with the people who speak very limited amount of English is actually a skill which can be developed over time. This depends on how often you speak with the non-native speakers. The more you deal with them, the more you get practised of dealing with them.

These are some key points that native English speakers should keep in mind while talking to non-native speakers:-

• Talk slowly and pronounce your words clearly:- while talking with the non-native speakers, always talk slowly and pronounce your words clearly so that they can understand you well and carry on conversation.
• Do not cover your mouth while speaking to them:- This is because the listener may want to figure out what you are saying, yes it helps them.
•  Speak simple English and avoid running words together or or using short-cuts:- Try to speak simple English and avoid running words together, this may confuse the listener and may give the wrong impression about yours level of English.