TIPS FOR A

SUCCESSFUL

INTERACTION WITH

ENGLISH NATIVE

AND NON-NATIVE

SPEAKERS

LEI Adrian Giron Chavez

THE BEST WAYS TO PRACTICE ENGLISH

THE BEST WAY

TO PRACTICE

ENGLISH

WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SPEAKING TO ENGLISH SPEAKERS?

A. I talk to them all the time. They love me!!!!!!

B. I talk to them when I see them in a bar, after a couple of tequila shots.

C. I never talk to them; they always think I’m going to assault them.

D. I talk to them in Spanish. We’re in Mexico after all, aren’t we?

WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SPEAKING TO ENGLISH SPEAKERS?

WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SPEAKING TO ENGLISH SPEAKERS?

E. I talk to them as long as they speak very slowly, repeat many times, and have patience with my English

WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS TALKING TO ENGLISH SPEAKERS?

A. I talk to them all the time; They love me!!!!

B. I try to talk to them when I see them in a bar, after a

couple of tequila shots.

C. I never talk to them; they always think I’m going to

assault them.

D. I talk to them in Spanish, We’re in Mexico after all,

aren’t we?

E. I talk to them as long as they talk to me slowly, repeat

many times, and have patience with my English

THE REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE

Past Experiences

Embarrassing Interactions

Successful Interactions

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL INTERACTIONS WITH ENGLISH SPEAKERS

Cultural tips Myths about foreigners What you can or can’t talk about Body language Turn-taking rules

Speaking tips Accuracy or fluency? Negotiation of meaning

Listening tips Word by word or the main idea? Interpret paralinguistic features Body language

Thanks

CULTURAL TIPS - MYTHS Native speakers will pay

attention to my mistakes and will correct me

They are in Mexico because they want to practice Spanish, not English.

They speak very fast, and they even speak faster so I don’t understand

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WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T TALK ABOUT

TabooSmall talk

Religion

Salary

Politics

Sales

Death

Serious diseases

Sports

Weather

Hobbies

Family

Hometown

Jobsmenu

CULTURAL TIPS - BODY LANGUAGE Smile Nod your head Have some eye contact Keep your head up Keep a good attitude

Don’t stand too close Don’t touch Don’t spit Don’t stare Don’t cross your arms

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TURN-TAKING RULES

Do not interrupt

Use fillers

Ask for your turn to speak

Raise or lower your voice

Take advantage of pauses

Pay attention to the speaker’s body languagemenu

ACCURACY OR FLUENCY? Accuracy

The ability to produce language correctly

(Ur, 1996)

FluencyThe ability to convey the message with

ease (Ur, 1996)

FACT: Native speakers prefer getting a message

with broken English but quickly, rather than getting the message correctly but 10 minutes later. menu

NEGOTIATION OF MEANING Approximation

His disease is … (grave) very serious

Word Coinage

Can I get red…air balls, please? (balloon)

Circumlocation

He works as a… he is responsible for the elevator (elevator operator)

NEGOTIATION OF MEANING

Description

I saw… a big bird with a long neck and huge legs that lives in Australia (an

ostrich)

Appeal for assistance

How do you call this kind of tool?

Use mimicmenu

LISTENING TIPS

Don’t try to understand every word that is said by the speaker

Just try to get the gist, that is, the main idea of the whole conversation or utterance

Pay attention to the speaker’s voice: his intonation, pitch, stress and rhythm can give a lot of clues (if he’s angry, if he’s making a question, etc.)

Study the speaker’s body language: his facial gestures and hand movements can provide relevant informationmenu

Thank you very much