Shocked by English when studying abroad despite 8.5 IELTS

Shocked by the "non-standard" way of communication

Having been an English teacher and achieved an IELTS score of 8.5 before studying English teaching at Warwick University (UK), Master Do Nguyen Dang Khoa never thought that his listening and speaking skills would gradually deteriorate during the first weeks of living in a foreign country. "At that time, I realized that months of preparing for the IELTS test could not prevent the shock of English when studying abroad," Khoa confided.

At first, the male teacher said he was terrible at remembering, unable to even name small things in English like cooking utensils. Khoa said it once took him 15 seconds to remember the word "chopping board" when talking to his roommate. "I can give a 45-minute presentation in English on a specialized topic, but I struggle to find words that can feed and help me survive in England," he said.

Master Dang Khoa during his master's degree in the UK, photo taken in January 2022

The "lightning-fast" way the British speak also makes Master Khoa "dizzy". For example, the entire sentence "would you like a bag?" was said by the salesperson in less than 1 second. For that reason, in his 4th month of living in the UK, the male teacher admitted that sometimes he still had to ask the person he was talking to repeat what he had just said to understand what they wanted to convey.

"The IELTS listening test focuses on academic language with slow, standard speech based on a pre-existing script, which is completely different from real-life communication which is fast and non-sequential, even overlapping. This makes the listening skill that I was once proud of, which I achieved a perfect score of 9.0, seems useless," he analyzed.

The differences in vocabulary and grammar between countries are also notable. For example, the British use "hall of residence" instead of "dorm" to refer to a dormitory, or use "let agreed" to announce that a place of accommodation has been rented. "The standard textbooks only teach 'let + object + infinitive' but not 'let + past participle'. After looking up the dictionary for a while, I learned that 'let' also has a noun form which is the act of allowing a place to be rented and the phrase 'let agreed' is used exclusively in the UK," explained Master Khoa.

"Let agreed" is a phrase used exclusively in the UK to refer to accommodation that has been let.

The way of communicating that is not "standard" such as speaking quickly, a lot and using a regional accent is also the reason why Dang Thuy Diem Anh, a student at Erasmus University (Netherlands), cannot keep up with what her classmates are saying in class despite having an IELTS score of 7.0. "My brain can only translate one sentence, but my classmates have already said 15 more sentences. Not to mention that at that time, I only had a limited vocabulary, mainly from lessons and social networks, so I could not express what I wanted to say," she said.

The language barrier not only causes inconvenience for Diem Anh at school but also in her daily life. The female student said that sometimes she was "doused with cold water" because of "strange" ways of speaking, or because the locals could not speak English. For example, when she called to make an appointment with the dentist, the clinic staff did not know how to write her name even though she had spelled each word. "After a while of 'struggling', they told me to hang up and call back tomorrow so that another staff could write it down for me. I had no choice but to accept it," Diem Anh recalled.

According to the female student, IELTS is nothing in life and communication barriers cannot be overcome by learning according to a certain framework. Each person has different education, family, job, and thinking, and the way they talk is born from those factors, Diem Anh said. "My neighbors talk one way, my colleagues talk another way. The problem is not only about how much or how little you study, but also depends on your understanding of the other person. Remember that communication is always a matter of both sides," she said.

Because communication is a two-way activity, Diem Anh advises that along with improving oneself, learners also need to spend time understanding the other person.

"You should not be embarrassed when others comment that you are speaking Vietnamese-English instead of standard English, because this is the color of the motherland and proves that you are trying to learn a language that is not your mother tongue," Diem Anh added.

How to "cure" language shock

Having worked as an English teaching assistant at a foreign language center in Vietnam and achieved a 7.5 IELTS score before studying abroad, Dao Son Tung, a student at the University of Calgary (Canada), could not help but felt awkward when listening to lectures and communicating in class, especially with the "high and low" Indian English accent or the "thick" London English accent. "Sometimes I get angry with myself for not being able to convey 100% of the thoughts in my head," Tung confessed.

According to the male student, communication barriers are a common obstacle that international students encounter at the beginning of their time in a foreign country because the pronunciation and use of English varies from place to place and from person to person, and is not as "standard" as in the context of the IELTS test. But after a while, they will get used to it, usually after 2-3 weeks, Tung said. Before that, both sides can also achieve the goal of communication through body language or translation applications.

To "cure" English shock, Tung believes that the most important thing is patience and the mindset of "if you want to be good, you have to speak". "Think slowly, speak slowly and try to speak English with more native speakers and classmates even if you don't like it. In reality, no one will laugh and say 'your English is so bad', or discriminate against you because you don't speak correctly there. Everyone will try to adapt and understand each other, not only in communication but also in terms of culture and viewpoints...", he advised.

According to some international students, English shock is a common phenomenon and can be overcome with prior preparation and a spirit of active communication.

During the preparation phase in Vietnam, Master Dang Khoa advises students to register for communication courses, or best of all, find international students from the country they are going to practice with. "Because each country has its own system of laws, policies and ways of using English, this exchange process not only helps improve communication, but also creates conditions for students to better understand the culture of the host country," Mr. Faculty analyzed.

The male teacher also advised international students to have some foreign language skills other than English, which is a mandatory requirement, as well as to be mentally prepared for regional accents such as English - Chinese, English - Indian, English - Pakistani... At the same time, Master Khoa suggested watching some TV shows of the study abroad country in advance to understand more slang, dialects and get familiar with the language used in signs, supermarket shelves...

"There is no exact figure on how long it takes to adapt to the local environment because it depends on your coverage and willingness to communicate. In general, to satisfy daily needs such as taking the bus, shopping, withdrawing money... it only takes 1 month to get used to those with IELTS 6.0-6.5 or higher. But to debate or integrate naturally with the locals, this process will take much longer," Mr. Faculty concluded.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/soc-tieng-anh-khi-du-hoc-du-85-ielts-185230604101954364.htm