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The Missing Link
For a significant portion of my life, I have tried to figure out why people who communicate in English as their Second Language still have difficulty in speaking and understanding English even though they have a better than average vocabulary and a decent understanding of the grammar rules. Many such people have spent time studying English in the school systems of their countries, have attended classes at language schools or have used self help products in an attempt to acquire fluency in English yet when they communicate they sound far from fluent. What is the missing link? In my humble opinion, the missing link between good grammar with an above average vocabulary and fluency is the colloquial way in which native speakers of English (Americans and people from the UK) converse. We use idioms and colloquialisms all the time and don't think twice that the people we are cummunicating with may not grasp these expressions as easily as we do (I just used 2 of them, all the time and think twice). We take for granted (there's another) that when speaking to a person who uses English as his/her second language, said individual will automatically grasp the central meaning of our thoughts even though we take shortcuts to express ourselves. There are over 8000 idioms in the English language. Either you know them or you don't. There is very little middle ground. Acquiring them to speak and understand English fluently is a process that takes years and is usually done through osmosis. My lovely wife of 24 years is from Malaysia. She is a great example of what I am talking about. She was educated primarily in English although it is not considered her mother tongue. I can remember like yesterday after we first moved to the United States, how she would laugh along with my friends at some sort of joke or play on words. Shortly after, when we were alone, she would tug on my sleeve and whisper, "What did he say?" or "What did he mean?" She is certainly not alone. Now through the help of living in America for so long, and using TalkTrain, a product I have just reintroduced to the world, she speaks so flowerly and eloquently with her quasi-British accent that it is intoxicating.
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