Business --- Barriers To Oral Communication

Grammar Pattern
Look briefly at the text below. Before reading the text, say:
a.What is about
b.what do you think the text probably recommends.
3. Now read the text. Mark the sentences that follow as True (T) or False (F).
Barriers to oral communication
Oral communication usually presents more problems than written communication. If you’ever studied another language, you know it’s easier to write in that language than you conduct a conversation. Even if the other speaks your language, you may hard a time understanding the pronunciation if the person isn’t proficient. For example, many non-native English speakers can’t distinguish between the English sounds v and w, so they say “wery” for “very”. At the same time many people from the United States cannot pronounce the French r or the German ch.
Also, people use their voices in different ways, which can lead listener to misunderstand their intentions. Russian speakers, for instance, speak in flat, level tones in their native tongue. When they speak English, they maintain his pattern, and non-Russian listeners may assume that the speakers are bored or rude. Middle Easterners tend to speak more emotional. On the other hand, the Japanese are soft-spoken, a characteristics that implies politeness or humility to Western listener s.
Idiomatic expressions are another source of confusion. If a U.S. executive tells an Egyptian executive that a certain product “ doesn’t cut the mustard,” chances are communication will fail. Even the words make sense, their meanings may differ according to the situation. For example, suppose you are dining with a German woman who speaks English quite well. You inquire, “More bread?” She says “ Thank You,” so you pass the bread. She looks confused; then she takes the breadbasket and sets it down without taking any. In German, thank you (danke) can also be used as a polite refusal. If the woman had wanted more bread she would have used the word please (bitte in German)
When speaking in English to people who speak English as a second language, you may find these guidelines helpful:
1.Try to eliminate noise. Pronounce words clearly, stop at distinct punctuation points,
and make one point at a time.
2.Look for feedback. Be alert to signs of confusion in your listener. Realize that nods an
d smiles don’t necessarily mean understanding.
3.Rephrase your sentence when necessary. If someone doesn’t seem to understand yo
u, choose simpler words; don’t just repeat the sentence in a louder voice.
4.Don’t talk down to the other person. Try not to overenunciate, and don’t “blame” th
e listener for not understanding. Use phrases such as “ Am I going too fast?” rather th
an “ Is this too difficult for you?”
5.Use objective, accurate language. Avoid throwing around adjectives such as fantastic
and fabulous, which people from other cultures might consider unreal and overly dram
atic.
6.Let other people finish what they have to say. If you interrupt, you may miss somethi
ng important. You’ll also show a lack of respect.
a. Speaking is more difficult than writing.
b. Pronunciation presents special difficulties.
c. English spoken in a flat, level tone sounds uninterested.
d. Middle Easterners are more emotional than Westerners.
e. The Japanese tend to speak softly.
f. It’s good to use a lot of idiomatic and colloquial phrases.