By The Hunger
When I was in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago, their dual language street signs reminded me that I had entered the Spanish province of Catalonia. The Catalonian language occupies the pole language position here in this region of Spain while Castilian (Spanish) takes a back seat to its Catalonian counterpart.
Although there are definite similarities between the two languages, and Catalonians have no problem understanding Spanish, Spanish-only speakers wouldn’t understand 100% of a Catalonian conversation.
One Way Conversation
Large chunks of the world speak some English, but how much do they really understand when we speak to them in our English? Casual head-nodding together with an overzealous use of “yes” are convincing ways to bluff an unaware native speaker. More importantly, how much would a hot foreigner really understand from a conversation with a native speaker in a bar? One Way Conversation anyone?
You’re there regaling the tale of how you sailed solo around the perilous Cape Hope on a rubber ducky, or the time you and Mike Tyson had a drag race and you beat him in your Nissan Micro. She probably would have already decided to shag some Danny DeVito look alike in the bar that just happens to speak English she can understand.
According to the most trusted source of linguistic credibility on the net, Wikipedia, (forgive me, linguistic stats are difficult to get concrete data on) some 300-400 million people speak English as a native language and another 200-1400 million people speak English as a second language.
Combine those figures with rum-fuelled intoxication, a stereo system with temperamental bass levels blasting that year’s summer song, and a foreigner who learnt her English from Monkey Magic. It all seems like conversational suicide. But alas, all is not lost; there are ways to increase your communicative chances without her needing to recite Shakespeare.
Ways of Communicating
Being the English teacher that I am, I use effective and alternative Ways Of Communicating when dealing with low level learners (e.g., elementary, pre-intermediate): to use a lot of body language, and to “grade” their English.
The first idea is fairly straightforward; body language is a very effective Way Of Communicating. Think about when you’re talking to someone who doesn’t speak your language, you instinctively revert to using body language, our most ancient form of communication. Being aware of body language is important here, hers as well as yours. I have always found that girls love it when guys are animated in their conversations; it shows passion and the potential to be amusing. Be careful not to overdo it, otherwise you’ll look like Cosmo Kramer doing yoga. I once taught an elementary class for 4 months. Towards the end of my stint, if you were to observe me from a distance you would have thought I was a semi-professional mime, certifiably nuts.
Another Way Of Communicating is to “grade” their English. Think of how you would speak to a child; you wouldn’t use difficult words like gynaecology, or engage in complicated topics such as capital punishment. You want to grade down certain parts of your speech so they can follow the conversation. How much of course depends on their English ability; this you will be able to ascertain when they start or don’t start to speak.
Essentially, you’re pulling out the excess language from the sentence so they can focus on the core communicative message. When someone who doesn’t speak English very well talks to you, they tend to misuse verb tenses, confuse prepositions or confuse the word order in their sentences. It’s not difficult to fill in the gaps when someone says, “Russia I live?” By slowing your language speed and limiting your vocab range, you’ll notice a big difference.
Now if she can’t understand any English, and you can’t find any lingua franca to communicate with, you could use one of her friends to translate key sentences. Like, “I would love to dance with your friend.” Don’t go overboard if you use her like a human Babbelfish because you run the risk of being a gimmick or just plain annoying. No human translator around? Dance like Fred Astaire on acid, no risk of miscommunication there!
Using different Ways of Communicating is the key. Make sure she has a chance to communicate otherwise you’ll be having a One Way Conversation all the way home.
