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Barriers to oral communication

Oral communication usually presents more problems than written communication. If you have ever studied a foreign language, you know from personal experience that it’s easier to write in a foreign language than to conduct a conversation. Even if the other person is speaking your language, you’re likely to have a hard time understanding the pronunciation if the person is not proficient.

In addition to pronouncing sounds differently, people use their voices in different ways, a fact that often leads to misunderstanding. The Russians, for example, speak in flat, level tones in their native tongue. When they speak English they maintain this pattern, and people may assume that they’re bored. Middle Easterners tend to speak more loudly than Westerners and may therefore mistakenly be considered more emotional. On the other hand, the Japanese are soft-spoken, a characteristic that implies politeness or humility to Westerners.

Idiomatic expressions are another source of confusion. Even when the words make sense, their meanings may differ according to the situation. For example, suppose that you are dining with a German woman who speaks English quite well. You inquire, “More bread?” She says, “Thank you”, so you pass the bread. She looks confused; then she takes the breadbasket and sets it down without taking any. In German, thank you (danke) can also be used as a polite refusal. If the woman had wanted more bread, she would have used the word please ( bitte in German).

When speaking in English to those for whom English is a second language, follow these simple guidelines:

- Try to eliminate “noise”. Pronounce words clearly and stop at distinct punctuation points.

- Look for feedbacks. Be alert to glazed eyes or signs of confusion in your listener. Realize that nods and smile do not necessarily mean understanding. Don’t be afraid to ask, “Is that clear?” and be sure to check listener’s comprehension through specific questions.

- Rephrase your sentence when necessary. If someone doesn’t seem to understand what you have said, choose simpler words; don’t just repeat the sentence in a louder voice.

- Don’t talk down to the other person. Don’t “blame” the listener for lack of comprehension.

- Use objective, accurate language.

- Let other people finish what they have to say. If you interrupt, you may miss something important. And you will show a lack of respect. [3, pp. 566-569]

III. Comprehension check

Expand the following statements using information from the text.

  1. Misunderstandings can arise when you deal with people who speak English as a second language.

  2. Another type of problem can arise when you deal with people who do not speak your language at all.

  3. There’s a great difficulty in learning foreign languages.

  4. Barriers to written communication also exist.

  5. Barrier to oral communication may present some problems.

  6. Guidelines to communication with foreigners are as follows:

IV. Language focus