As an international student in Canada or the USA, one of the most difficult challenges you鈥檒l face are English language barriers. Even if you are fluent in English, there are many factors that make conversing with native speakers difficult. Fortunately, there are ways you can make things much easier on yourself!
We recently spoke with聽, a former international student who has lived abroad for most of his adult life. Originally from Northern California, Caleb has lived, worked, and studied in 10 different countries. He currently resides in Prague, Czech Republic and is an expert on living abroad.
While Caleb didn鈥檛 struggle with English, he has faced a number of challenges living as a foreigner in other countries. Caleb was generous enough to share some tips on how international students can overcome English language barriers. You can also watch our entire interview with Caleb in the video below!
1. Accept that you will fail鈥� a lot
Learning a new language is a long and difficult process, so there鈥檚 no point in being hard on yourself when you make聽mistakes. As Caleb points out, even students who are fluent in English will hit聽cultural barriers聽they may not expect.
鈥淭he native speaker form of the language is something completely different from what鈥檚 usually taught in schools or even what you see in the movies,鈥� Caleb explains. 鈥淣ative speaker leave out everything they don鈥檛 need. You鈥檒l hear people say 鈥楪oin鈥� to the store.鈥� Who鈥檚 going in the store (laughs)? This happens in every single language 鈥� what you hear on the street is completely different than what you鈥檝e learned.鈥�
Rather than become frustrated by these sorts of barriers, accept that this is all聽part of the experience聽of living in a different country. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for everyone,鈥� says Caleb. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just you. You didn鈥檛 fail English, this is completely normal.鈥�
2. Join a club
One of the best things students can do when they鈥檙e first attending university or college is to聽join a club聽that interests them. It could be anything 鈥� sports, board games, movies.
鈥淢ost Canadian universities have tons of student clubs and they love to have new members,鈥� explains Caleb. Your English language 鈥渨ill matter less鈥� in this situation because there鈥檚 not as much pressure to speak fluently. 鈥淵ou quickly [make] 聽friends over your common interest and are not limited by your language 鈥� So that鈥檚 a really good way to start.
Make sure to research which clubs are being run at your own university and college. You鈥檙e bound to find something that interests you!
3. Have an icebreaker phrase for difficult situations
An invaluable tip shared by Caleb is to have a phrase ready if you are not confident in your English language skills.
As a native English speaker, Caleb makes a point to learn the phrase 鈥淒o you speak English?鈥� in the language of the country he鈥檚 in. This way, the person he鈥檚 speaking to knows he鈥檚 a foreigner and he鈥檚 then free to 鈥渄o whatever鈥檚 necessary to communicate.鈥� This can be applied to any language 鈥� just insert your native language in place of English into the phrase above.
4. Ask people to slow down
One of the main problems with speaking to native English speakers is their聽speed聽can be hard to keep up with. This can be very frustrating if you鈥檙e trying to improve your speaking skills. If you find yourself struggling to keep up with someone鈥檚 speech, Caleb suggests telling them 鈥淚鈥檓 sorry, English isn鈥檛 my first language. Could you slow down a bit?鈥�
This way, you鈥檒l let them know you鈥檙e not a native English speaker and you鈥檒l improve your chances of understanding each other. 鈥淒on鈥檛 pretend to be fluent if you鈥檙e not,鈥� warns Caleb. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 help anyone. Just try to be very honest about what you can and can鈥檛 do.鈥�
5. Use every tool you can
If you鈥檝e spent years learning a language, you may be reluctant to use translation tools. After all, you put in a lot of work to get where you are. Using anything other than your own brain is just cheating, right?
However, Caleb argues that at the end of the day,聽the most important thing is to be able to communicate. 鈥淲e should never hesitate to use all the tools available to us,鈥� says Caleb. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e having a conversation with someone but it鈥檚 breaking down, why not pull out your phone with the translation app and speak into it?鈥�
In addition to translation apps such as聽, Caleb also recommends using聽props, such as pictures of your family or home country, that you can easily show people. This is an easy thing to fit into conversation that also tells people who you are and why you鈥檙e living abroad.
础听pen and paper聽is also great to have. You can have someone write down a word you鈥檙e having trouble understanding. Alternatively, you can write down what you鈥檙e trying to say if the person you鈥檙e talking to is having a hard time understanding you.
6. Don鈥檛 get stuck in your own language group
As a newcomer to Canada or the USA, it鈥檚 only natural to want to seek out others who speak your first language. Being homesick is quite common when living in a new country, and surrounding yourself with people from your home country can help make your new living situation more comfortable. However, this can easily backfire and stall your progress聽in adjusting to your new home.
鈥淭he temptation to just hang out with people who speak your language is going to be constant and extremely strong,鈥� explains Caleb. 鈥淏ut [if] you never push yourself out of your comfort zone, that鈥檚 a problem. It鈥檚 about that balance of always getting a little bit better, learning your own limits but knowing there鈥檚 a goal in sight.鈥�
In this case, the goal is to improve not just your English language skills, but your ability to navigate the cultures and customs of a foreign country.
If you鈥檇 like more tips on living abroad, check out Caleb鈥檚 blog: .
For more general study abroad tips, check out our 5 Tips for New University and College Students.
