How to overcome the embarrassment of speaking a second language

Image by Newton Free Library via Flickr

How to overcome the embarrassment of speaking a second language – http://ow.ly/4b8dZ

Notes to the link above:

This may astound some, but speaking a second language can be like shooting oneself in the foot. For someone who speaks a second language, I’ve struggled against demeaning feelings from being in embarrassing situations because I’d be using this second language. Despite my being studious in learning languages, I remember being so scared of making mistakes before native born speakers, which behavior upon closer look was actually stupid. I noticed how some native speakers would take it against you, probably because they’re resentful of the success of someone who overcomes challenges and speaks a second language, if you talk to them in their language. This especially happens if you speak with an accent.

I’ve since gained much insights into my mistakes and fears. The best approach to overcome the embarrassment is to assume the tone of the native speaker who’s before you. This approach has worked wonders for me, even if I know I’m making mistakes with my grammar (which I’ve found out from listening closely to the feedback being given me by native speakers include what they mean to be:  ‘wrong choices of words’).  How to learn the tone? Start watching movies and TV shows as well as listening to music that are all using the second language you’re learning to be competent on.  And tones differ according to locations, so pay attention to these tones.  If you listen consistently well enough, your accent will soon improve as you continue speaking that second language.

Keep in mind that speaking a second language is akin to having a powerful tool. Don’t you wonder why some would go out of their way to mock you just because you’re able to speak the language that they think belongs to them by having started to use the said language practically after their birth? That’s their simple way of eradicating competition from others whom they perceive to be their ‘enemies.’ And that’s probably why some people have this concept about ‘native language speakers,’ which to me is pure baloney. And most of these people endeavor to make and run profitable businesses on teaching languages.

There are more and more people in the world who are speaking a second language other than their first language. In fact, more and more people are learning 2 or more languages at the same time. Take a close look at young children who are normally doing this in everyday life situations. The myth of the ‘native language speaker’ will soon be gone before we know it LOL.

As they say, ‘keep at it’ and you’ll be competent even before you catch the drift of it.

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Difficulties in learning the Tagalog language

Image by Roberto Verzo via Flickr

Difficulties in learning the Tagalog language – http://ow.ly/41qgJ

Notes to the link above:

Even if this language is actually being taught at the Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University, some express their doubts about the appeal of Tagalog language in the international market. One major problem with learning Tagalog language is that you’ll encounter people who can speak the language but who are not proud of using it (or probably not seeing its strategic advantage) because they’d prefer to use their mother tongue, which is a common situation in the Philippines. I’ve met so many people here in the US who would rather be talked with in English (or say in Bisaya) rather than in Tagalog.

And having gained experience in doing Tagalog tutorials to some New Yorkers, I would always get surprised reactions from some people, including those who were born and raised in the Philippines, about the seeming incongruity of the idea. It’s as if it’s weirdest idea ever that they’ve encountered when it comes to offering services that they think won’t be useful. Well, there’s actually a market for the Tagalog language; you just have to be extra patient if you’ll be offering to teach it to those who are curious about learning the language. Don’t even market it to unbelievers as they’ll just waste your time.

The language itself is REALLY not that difficult to learn (and actually, language learning is a chore, to be honest about it). It’s just that some people you’ll meet abroad who will find out you’re providing Tagalog tutorials, they’ll be so amused and won’t even believe the idea at first hearing. And they’ll continue to disparage the effort to learn the language — how mean some of these people can be…But what can you actually do if some people get to be reminded of the perceived and unwanted dominance of people from Luzon (or Manila, specifically) in many realms of their lives that are pursued outside of the Philippines’ capital region whenever they hear Tagalog-speaking people in their midst.

In any case, just contact this writer in case you would like to learn Tagalog. He’s been speaking the language almost from childhood, with English. Actually, his first language is Bicol, which was then spoken in his household when he was growing up.  Needless to say, he’s proud being able to speak and do tutorials in Tagalog. He even did many proofreading works for Tagalog books (published before 1923) that were transformed into e-books via Project Gutenberg.

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Why Is an HP Call Center Agent Not Allowed to Speak Tagalog? (What kind of customer service is this?)

Last night, I happened to be watching TV, and heard in the background the remarks being made by a friend who was talking with someone on the phone. The person on the other line happened to remark in the affirmative that “he’s from the Philippines” and my friend casually pointed out what his experience with previous call center agents that “they’re not allowed to speak in Tagalog” even if the customer (who in the case of my friend) happens to speak Tagalog [wanna learn the language? click here]. My friend whom I’ve known back in the Philippines wanted to seek help on certain problems he’s been encountering with his recently brought HP Laptop.

I could not help but say: “That’s stupid!” I’ve heard this thing happened before, and I’m posting this blog just to express my disgust over this practice. Yet I’m curious why exactly? I should have asked my friend to ask the agent the reason behind the policy (are they actually “agents” or “customer service people”? Please advise me as well on this, for those who happened to be working with call center companies anywhere logged on reading this; thanks!!!). [Or is it because these agents performance are being in measured by their abilities to speak in English?]

Going back to my friend, I remember he was made to wait for the next 15 minutes or so, as I realized I was almost done with my TV watching of the program of David Letterman. And I still could not fathom why these agents are not allowed to speak Tagalog when they happen to be talking with Tagalog speaking agents. I have heard, though from my friend, while waiting for him get connected to the right fellow in another office of HP located in different country. He was soon talking with a fellow whom he asked if he’s from India or the Philippines.

Now, why is it better to allow those who do this work to speak in the language that both parties can use more appropriately to tackle, and clarify problems? It’s as basic as “losing something in the translation,” period. I don’t want to believe that those who make this kind of decision in HP or some other call center companies as bigoted enough to just consider sticking it out to speak in English all the time. They must have figured out that talking in one same language would be effective for their business. Of course, I’ve known that there are service centers that deliver their services in other languages other than English. But still, it’s more effective when you connect with people when there’s an understanding at least on the emotional level, which is best done when parties are using the same language.

But yet, who is actually fooling who from this kind of experience? From my experience, I would usually know if I’m talking to someone from the Philippines, or at least someone staying there. I would usually know if I’m talking from someone in India, or perhaps some similar places. It’s best to be talking in a language that has more appropriate expressive words just to better define what is exactly being talked about, or discussed between people who don’t actually see each other. Something is actually lost in transit, so to say. And it’s maddening to hear that the agent on the other line is gagged from talking in a language that would make the sharing of support more free flowing, fluid, and more natural. Come on, people know this right away when they know they speak a common language. It’s not because of failure to appreciate that language, as a communication tool, works better when commonly understood and spoken by both parties. Still, it’s not actually what I suspect to be a scheme to just keep a certain language more prominent in business usage than other languages these days. There could be something more behind this standing policy on using English even if both parties can speak in more comfortably in another language, or if the situation appropriately calls for it.

And actually, it’s also good to know that call center workers, i.e. those who talk to customers, are able to speak other languages. It’s always frustrating to know that one is just limited to one language, which goes against the very nature of how things are taking place in changes the world over.

Just a rant, this time! Whew!