こんにちは！今日は新しい試みとしてPOCfield英語学園の外国人の先生に英語でブログを書いて頂きました☆彡
このブログを読んでくださっている方は留学や英語学習に関心がある方ばかりだと思うので、英語の文章を読むことも練習になると思います。特に外国人が何を言ってるのかわからなかった時の「I dont' know」以外の答え方は参考になると思いますよ♪
Hello! My name is Liza, ESL teacher teaching Japanese ESL learners for quite a few years now. In this blog, I would like to share a few observations and thoughts I have about some factors that hinder Japanese ESL learners from learning English fast.
I`d like to touch on one of the cultural factors why I think Japanese ESL learners have rather a slow pace in learning and improving their English skills. I say cultural because this trait or behavior also appears to be true when Japanese ESL learners are speaking in their own language.
I will only be writing about one in this blog and that is, Japanese people seem afraid to say, “I don`t know” and “I don`t understand.” It is good that learners seem to want to have all answers to everything but when they happen to not know any, they`d start mumbling, “Uhm… nandaro,” “Muzukashii,” “Uhmmm…” for a long time trying really hard to come up with an answer. This sometimes makes it difficult for teachers to figure out whether it is the question the learners don`t understand or it is the answer to the question they’re having difficulty with.
What I`d like to say to our learners is that, it is completely ok to not know everything, to not have all the answers to all questions, and to not understand something. It`s completely ok to say, “I don`t know” or “I don’t understand.”
So let me now share a few expressions you can use to say “I don`t know.”
1. I have no idea.
2. Let me try to remember.
3. I can`t recall.
4. I`ve never heard of that before.
5. It`s my first time to hear about that.
And if you don’t understand your teachers, here are a few expressions to let them know:
1. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Please say it again.
2. I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question.
3. What do you mean?
3. What do you mean?
Whether or not you know or understand your teacher, it is important to respond to let them know. These expressions will not only help you practice your English speaking skills but also, and more importantly, give your teachers a clue on how to proceed with the lesson. This will help both you and your teachers move forward and make progress in improving your English skills a little faster.
Remember, it is ok to say “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand.” To make it even better, feel free to ask your teachers some questions.
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