Aimed at EFL students

1. TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL
INTERACTION WITH ENGLISH
NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE
SPEAKERS
LEI Adrian Giron Chavez

2. THE BEST WAYS TO PRACTICE ENGLISH

3. THE BEST WAY
TO PRACTICE
ENGLISH

4. WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SPEAKING TO
ENGLISH SPEAKERS?
A. I talk to them all the
time.
They love me!!!!!!
B. I talk to them when I
see them in a
bar, after a couple of
tequila shots.

5. WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SPEAKING TO
ENGLISH SPEAKERS?
C. I never talk to them; they
always think I’m going to
assault them.
D. I talk to them in Spanish.
We’re in Mexico after all,
aren’t we?

6. WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SPEAKING TO
ENGLISH SPEAKERS?
E. I talk to them as long as they speak very
slowly, repeat many times, and have
patience with my English

7. WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS TALKING
TO ENGLISH SPEAKERS?
A. I talk to them all the time; They love me!!!!
B. I try to talk to them when I see them in a bar, after a couple
of tequila shots.
C. I never talk to them; they always think I’m going to assault
them.
D. I talk to them in Spanish, We’re in Mexico after all, aren’t
we?
E. I talk to them as long as they talk to me slowly, repeat
many times, and have patience with my English

8. THE REASONS FOR YOUR CHOICE
Past Experiences
Successful
Embarrassing
Interactions
Interactions

9. TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL INTERACTIONS WITH
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
 Cultural tips
 Myths about foreigners
 What you can or can’t talk about
 Body language
 Turn-taking rules
 Speaking tips
 Accuracy or fluency?
 Negotiation of meaning
 Listening tips
 Word by word or the main idea?
 Interpret paralinguistic features
 Body language
Thanks

10. CULTURAL TIPS - MYTHS
 Native speakers will pay attention
to my mistakes and will correct
me
 They are in Mexico because they
want to practice Spanish, not
English.
 They speak very fast, and they
even speak faster so I don’t
understand
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11. WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T TALK ABOUT
Small talk Taboo
Religion
Sports
Salary
Weather
Politics
Hobbies
Sales
Family
Death
Hometown
Serious diseases
Jobs
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12. CULTURAL TIPS - BODY LANGUAGE
 Smile
 Nod your head
 Have some eye contact
 Keep your head up
 Keep a good attitude
 Don’t stand too close
 Don’t touch
 Don’t spit
 Don’t stare
 Don’t cross your arms
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13. TURN-TAKING RULES
 Do not interrupt
 Use fillers
 Ask for your turn to speak
 Raise or lower your voice
 Take advantage of pauses
 Pay attention to the speaker’s body language
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14. ACCURACY OR FLUENCY?
 Accuracy
The ability to produce language correctly
(Ur, 1996)
 Fluency
The ability to convey the message with ease
(Ur, 1996)
FACT:
Native speakers prefer getting a message with
broken English but quickly, rather than getting the
message correctly but 10 minutes later.
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15. NEGOTIATION OF MEANING
 Approximation
His disease is … (grave) very serious
 Word Coinage
Can I get red…air balls, please? (balloon)
 Circumlocation
He works as a… he is responsible for the
elevator (elevator operator)

16. NEGOTIATION OF MEANING
 Description
I saw… a big bird with a long neck
and huge legs that lives in Australia (an ostrich)
 Appeal for assistance
How do you call this kind of tool?
 Use mimic
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17. LISTENING TIPS
 Don’t try to understand every word that is said by
the speaker
 Just try to get the gist, that is, the main idea of the
whole conversation or utterance
 Pay attention to the speaker’s voice: his
intonation, pitch, stress and rhythm can give a lot of
clues (if he’s angry, if he’s making a question, etc.)
 Study the speaker’s body language: his facial
gestures and hand movements can provide
relevant information
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