http://www.hansencommlab.com<br />http://www.speakglobalenglish.com<br /><br />Speak Global English Video Series<br />Part 6:<br />How native and non-native speakers hear English<br /><br />A lot of my clients come to me quite confused saying that some people understand them perfectly while others don't seem to understand a word they say. <br /><br />This divide is normally along the lines of native and non-native speakers. Jean-Paul Nerriere, a Frenchman living in Japan and working for IBM was one of the first people to recognize that non-native English speakers were actually able to understand each other better when they spoke to each other than when they spoke with native English speakers! <br /><br />How could this be true when they were all speaking a foreign language? Well, most (not all, but most) native English speakers grow up hearing only one language -- their own variety of English. Non-native speakers hear many different kinds of English as they learn the language, and therefore have a "better ear" when it comes to understanding others.<br /><br />Native speakers also listen for subtle nuances of the language that non-native speakers don't particularly care about. We listen for word stress and intonation patterns to give us more information. Non-native speakers ignore all of that to focus more on vocabulary.<br /><br />So this is why we can end up having more miscommunication when native speakers are involved. We hear the English language differently.<br /><br />This is why it's just as important for native speakers to pay attention to their speech in international settings and also make an honest effort to understand others. Non-native speakers, I'll also be sharing some tips with you in upcoming videos as to how you can speak in a way that native speakers can better understand.<br /><br />If you'd your teams to start paying closer attention to their speech, visit http://www.HansenCommLab.com for more information on training opportunities. Or, come join the revolution at http://www.SpeakGlobalEnglish.org.
