Job Discussion Forums

[artemisia]

It's an organic process - and just remember - whatever is organic is good for you even if you don't like it. Perhaps this is also an analogy for the (sometimes) evolving process of communicating - whether it be in L1 or L2.
I'll say no more (for now).

[bulgogiboy]

Well, I suppose it's easy when you're big in Japan...

[JZer]

[cks]

Back on topic;

After 5 years of teaching- I am now starting to use the most common grammar mistakes of my students- "so nice day", "so big room", "discuss about it", and omitting my articles. My vocab is a combo of advanced and dumbed down. It is driving me crazy!

[Otterman Ollie]

I didn't read all the posts, but I feel as others do that teaching English in a foreign country is going to have some impact on your level of speech and general receptive skills. Take the situation that I come across on a regular basis, a native speaker who has become so immersed in L1 that things like contractions have been ommitted, invariably these who have "gone bush" are usually the extreme examples, their writing is ok, but even I have noticed that I need a few days adjustment if I haven't trod on home soil for a while. I work with fellow native speakers, but when all around you is mostly another tongue with splashes of stilted L2 then in a subtle way you are going to be affected. People back in blighty usually say, "why are you talking so slowly?

[bulgogiboy]

[scot47]

I know of several long time Gulf Teflers who habitually speak to everyone in a pidginised form of English. 25 years in KSA has taken its toll on them !

I notice that I tend to simplify my language too. One strange effect is that when hearing people in UK talk about weight, I cannot understand them. "I put on two stones in my vacation."

Why can't they use kg like everyone else !

[Phil_K]

They say "vacation"? I do now, being in Mexico and exposed to American English, but I bet they say "holiday", along with tin (of beans), petrol and flat (apartment), which all sound strange to me now!

[Insubordination]

When I came back to Australia, everyone noticed that I was pronouncing 'r's on the ends of words like Americans and Canadians do. It took me a few weeks to shake habit. I guess I developed it because my students had problems understanding Australian vowel sounds.

[bulgogiboy]

[Otterman Ollie]

Hi BBOY

I used L1 as it is their first language, in this case Turkish, as I said some so-called native speakers seem to go in for competitions to see who can use it the most outside the classroom. One female is so entrenched she only uses her own language when she is "forced" to speak with another fellow native speaker. But thats another story!

[scot47]

I recollect one Anglo in Khobar saying to a RSAF Security Guard, while trying to get me past security," This man he igama same same me. He Britani."

This was an attempt to say,"My friend has an ID card like mine. He is British."

I wonder if he talks like that when at home in the English Midlands.

[bulgogiboy]

I see. I used to be pretty good at Turkish (It's fading fast with lack of practice), one of the advantages of previously being in a relationship with a Turkish lady. I quite enjoyed speaking it with shopkeepers, taxi drivers, etc, and having that relative amount of privacy when speaking it with my ex-partner in the UK. It's hard to immerse yourself in Turkey though, at least I found that, as I was mixing with well-educated Turks, and so many people want to speak 'Turklish' with you in general!

I suppose your colleague is just trying her best to become proficiency-level through immersion? Has she snagged that Turkish husband she's looking for, yet?

[Perilla]

Similar to many posters, in HK I often find myself using pidgin English and avoiding complex structures or sentences. Moving away from the present tense often causes problems.

I've also adopted some local phrases, such as "same same".

How's the missus?

Oh, same same ... etc.

Another local English habit that has intruded into ours is adding a long vowel sound, usually an aaaaa or laaaa, to the end of sentences for no good reason, e.g. ...

Time for bed laaaaa !! Which would sound very odd anywhere except Liverpool.

[JZer]

I notice a lot of foreigners in Taiwan who are English teachers adapting Chinese-English and saying "Write your homework!" instead of "Do your homework!"