Before I start telling you about the 5 important things to remember when talking to a native speaker, you might be wondering – who IS a native speaker? Here’s my definition:
Native speaker – a divine creature living in the enchanted forest guarded by fairies who will only speak to you if you’re a certified mermaid
OK, I got a little carried away there. But seriously, I feel like everyone’s always scared of talking to native speakers. You shouldn’t be! I understand that talking to someone who speaks the language you’re trying to learn perfectly is a little intimidating, but don’t let that stop you. Use it to your advantage!
Here are the 5 important things to remember:
1) A native speaker is just a human being, like you.
Unless you’re an alien visiting the Earth, in which case, no worries, native speakers still won’t hurt you (hopefully)!😁
Jokes aside, native speakers also have a life to live, jobs, dreams, goals, fears… they’re not just standing in the crowd waiting for you to call their name. Which is both positive and negative.
On the one hand, not every native speaker is super friendly and wants to meet you just because you speak their language. Most of them don’t really care about that. I mean, who cares if you speak French if everyone speaks French in France. Yikes. That hurt.😢
On the other hand, they are not worried about your grammar or your vocabulary choice. As long as what you’re saying makes sense. Phew!
2) No need to be apologetic when talking to a native speaker.
I know you’ve said sorry more than once when speaking a foreign language!
”Sorry about my accent.”
”Sorry, I don’t speak French/English/Korean/etc. very well.”
Do NOT be sorry! Speaking, or trying to speak another language is nothing to be sorry about. If anything, native speakers should be sorry they don’t speak your language! 😉 Instead, you should say ”I’m talking in a language I don’t even think in – I’m, like, totally winning at life, okay?”
OK, don’t ACTUALLY say these words, just skip the whole sorry part and get to the point!
By the way, apologizing may even make people think less of you in general! Psychology’s not exactly my area of expertise, but you can read more about it here.
3) Native speakers are not constantly analyzing your language skills.
OK, let’s be real here – If something happened in the past, and you’re using a future tense, it’s confusing.
However, don’t worry about minor grammar mistakes, not choosing the best word to describe something, or your accent. Plus, most of the time, I bet you’re just paranoid about details. Even if you do make what’s considered to be a ”big” mistake, oh well – just laugh about it and carry on.
If you can’t remember a word – paraphrase!
Also, embrace your accent because that’s what makes you unique. 😊
4) Native speakers may not be language enthusiasts at all.
Just because a native speaker speaks their language perfectly doesn’t mean they know why something works the way it does. In fact, you may know more about their language more than they do… technically speaking. Unless somebody’s interested in linguistics or is trying to learn a language themselves, they won’t know what you consider to be basic terms such as ”prefix”, ”auxiliary”, ”comparative” etc.
That is to say, speaking a language comes naturally to them, so they may not know how to teach you something, unless that’s what they do for a living.
5) Native speakers are most likely impressed by you.
Even if you’ve just started learning a language, people will want to hear your story. Chances are that they’ve lived their whole lives in the country you’re visiting and more often than not, they’ll be curious to know about you.
Not only that, but learning another language requires effort, and it is something people always admire.
The point is, don’t be shy! Take the initiative and make first contact. Be yourself – truly and unapologetically! ✌
