Embarrassing Call
Today I had an embarrassing time when I had to pick up a call from the US. I understood everything the person on the phone said, but she couldn't understand what I was saying. The lady on the phone got mad at me, and I had to transfer the call to my boss. It's been the most embarrasing time so far for me when trying to speak in English. From now on, I will try to avoid picking up calls from English speaking countries, since I feel more comfortable when it comes to writing emails in English. All in all, I had never felt so dumb until today.
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Corrections · 8
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Embarrassing Call
Today I had an embarrassing time when I had to pick up/take a call from the US. I understood everything the person on the phone said, but she couldn't understand what I was saying. The lady on the phone got mad at me, and I had to transfer the call to my boss. It's been the most embarrasing time so far for me when trying to speak in English. From now on, I will try to avoid picking up/taking calls from English-speaking countries, since I feel more comfortable when it comes to writing emails in English. All in all, I had never felt so dumb until today.
Speaking is the most difficult part of learning a language. The fact that the person on the other end could not understand you might not be your fault, or not completely your fault. He or she may not have much expopsure to people with accents (I'm guessing have an accent, which is normal for anyone not speaking their native language), might have a hearing problem (or might have been in a loud place during the call), or may simply have been impatient. Give yourself some credit for taking the call in the first place. The phone is very difficult to use in a foreign language because you cannot see the person's face (and thus read their lips and facial expressions). In addition, your written English proves that you are at close to native fluency. Keep going, do not get discouraged!
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Adding to what Phil said... when someone is conducting business it's an entirely different thing than casual speech in that they can resent just the fact that you aren't a native speaker. I often feel this way to tell you the truth. I would chat with you all day casually and be impressed with your English, but not if it were something of great importance where I needed to understand every word and subtlety and to have it understood. Many Americans have long experience with not being able to get good customer support in their own language even though they are calling an American company, so it brings up all that history and the fact that we are out-sourcing so many of our jobs to other countries. We tend to have short fuses sometimes due to long experience. In Texas, it's can be extreme. I'm lucky to be able to speak Spanish because other people can have a really hard time getting services in English sometimes or even understanding what the Hispanic citizens here are trying to say in English.
With your ability in written English though, you really would still be a great asset and like Phil said, if you can concentrate on improving your pronunciation and spoken fluency and accuracy that's a whole different skill set than writing. You could still be a very good speaker, but for business and on the phone, it takes someone to be at a very advanced level without much of a foreign accent in order to completely avoid that kind of reaction. Don't take it too hard. Even someone living in an English-speaking country for 10 years could get that kind of response if they didn't go for accent reduction training.
Keep working at it! Think of that person as helping you to get better and better. Besides, how many languages do you think that person could speak without an accent. :) The fact that you are totally bilingual in writing is a massive accomplishment.
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Embarrassing Call
Today I had an embarrassing time when I had to pick up a call from the US. I understood everything the person on the phone said, but she couldn't understand what I was saying. The lady on the phone got mad at me, and I had to transfer the call to my boss. It's It has been the most embarrasing time so far for me when trying to speak in English. From now on, I will try to avoid picking up calls from English-speaking countries, since I feel more comfortable when it comes to writing emails in English. All in all, I had never felt so dumb until today.
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I'd like to make two observations.
First, it's possible that the caller did understand you. However, for whatever reason, she may not have wanted to talk to someone for whom English is not a first language. (She may have had an awful experience in the past.) But I hope you will consider that. She may have understood you, but chose to pretend otherwise.
Second, conversation is a two-sided responsibility. The listener has the responsibility to actually listen. Some people simply won't try to understand a person who is not a native English speaker. It's entirely possible that a different caller would have understood you.
Have you now found an English-speaking language partner? Perhaps you can say to your partner exactly what you said to the lady on the phone? Your partner can pick up any mistakes in grammar or pronunciation, or identify any words where your accent is particularly strong. I believe this would be an important exercise for you, so that you can regain confidence to try again speaking with English callers.
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Talking on the phone in a business context can be challenging in even one's native language, which is why we teach courses specifically designed to develop such skills in a foreign language. It's also possible you chanced upon an especially difficult customer. No need to "feel stupid," as I'm sure your foreign language skills are better than those of the lady in question.
That being said, since your written English is really good, I would seriously consider the possibility that working on your pronunciation may be the best way to continue on your journey to mastering English.
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just like Marjia said,I think you should not avoid speaking in English,instead you should catch up every single change to practice.
I totally understand the feeling of embarrassing,but no fail no grow.I have been lived in other country for 7 years,I had been through a lot like that.I work in a restaurant,get the wrong order because my poor Japanese,I had been mad by customers million times,also made my boss mad many times too,at first I was afraid to pick up the phone call,but now I am very good at it,also teach freshman how to do it.
Never give up,believe you can do it.cheers!
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