Hello, my name is Duncan Brown, an English Communication Facilitator.
Learn more about me at the facilitator page.
Based in Sano, I help learners develop their English skills confidently and naturally.
Through guidance at Brown’s English Language School (BELS), students get practical experience in English communication.
IT SOUNDS FUNNY
Every now and again, I hear a sentence that makes me think, “Is the grammar correct?”. The sentence structure sounds awkward or just plain wrong. When this happens, I look like a dog that leans its’ head to one side trying to understand.
When I hear an awkward sentence, I repeat it over and over to hear if it improves my feeling about it. I think of the grammatical rules it follows and look for any exceptions that I don’t know about. I ask Masami or check reference books or look on the internet but that can come up with more questions than answers.
IT'S NEW TO ME
Knowing that the English language is ever evolving, I look at what has become common practice in spoken English. “More tasty?” Ouch! No thank you. This is a modern trend which I find distracting, I will continue using tastier and reluctantly accept its use.
SOUNDS GOOD, SOUNDS BAD
Take a look at these sentences, “There are a woman and a boy”, and, “There is a woman and a boy”. Did your head lean after reading one of them? Which one SOUNDS correct to you? Which one is correct, “are” or “is”? They are both correct and mean almost the same thing but one doesn’t suit me. Infrequently, correct grammar sounds wrong to the native ear.
It’s true that most native speakers of a language are lazy with it, especially teenagers using abbreviations, contractions, and contemporary slang which may or may not continue into common use. When learning English as a second language, students want perfection, however, it can sound wrong.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
How can you improve on perfect grammar? You don’t, just keep using it. Here’s the double standard; When your grammar is incorrect in your native language, people may not think anything of it. If your grammar is incorrect in a second language, you are wrong.
What happens if your grammar is correct in a second language but it sounds wrong to a native speaker? 1. The native may incorrectly correct you. 2. A discussion about grammar begins. 3. Nothing. 4. The native is confused.
If there is confusion the simple solution is to rephrase your sentence. For everything else, go along with it. Even when it’s perfect, it may just sound wrong.
Further reading:
.The Danger of Guessing When Listening to English
Brown’s English Language School (BELS) helps you build the English skills you need in a way that suits you best.
- English (Exams & Qualifications – page in Japanese)
- English Conversation (page in Japanese)
- English Communication (page in Japanese)
If you would like to contact us:
→ Contact Us (page in Japanese)
→ Email us in English: [email protected]
For more details:
→ English Communication Program
Frequently Asked Questions
→ FAQ (page in Japanese)
♢♢♢Information♢♢♢
English is a tool for communication.
If you’d like to know which skills to focus on to improve your English communication, please contact us at [email protected].
We offer a free English communication skills assessment for the first 3 applicants every month.
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