Do native English speak too quickly for ESL/EFL students? Listen to this discussion and write your own comments on the topic.
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It's a fact that native English speaker is speaking quicker than the non-native english speaker. This can't be denied. Moreover, there are different slang in different English speaking countries, which make it even harder to catch the message. I had problem trying to digest what were the messages in a conversation when i spoke englih with a native speaker. What i could do is to try to catch the key word and figure it out from there.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think most native speakers speak too quickly. I believe it’s more of a personal trait than a general rule. However, learners of a language might not be so used to listening to native-speakers of the language and may end up thinking that they all speak fast in a way that they cannot be easily understood.
ReplyDeleteTeachers of a language might have a tendency to slow down so as to make their students feel more comfortable and more confident in the learning process of the language in question. In this case, teachers may not sound like native speakers of the language because they’re not speaking at their natural speed.
Just to wrap it up, I do agree that listening is an important skill. It used to be thought as a passive skill, but it was found to be quite an active and important one.
Also, conversational skills , such as how to ask a conversational partner ( in a polite manner – of course :-)) to repeat, rephrase or elaborate more on what they’re saying are also important skills to learn.