I am the only one who is supposed to understand English in my village. People know me as someone who masters English very well. Yes , I understand English when it is written or spoken very slowly.
Today a villager came to see me. He need my help: One of his relatives living in Europe , and speaking only English will make a phone call on Saturday 4th. And I have to translate the message into French so that he understands. But I am not sure that I will be able to do this translation. I have problems with English spoken fast. It will be a big shame if I am not able to do this translation. I am afraid. My country is Burkina Faso. A French speaking country. In the country of the blinds the one eye man is a king. It is my case. I understand english just a little bit. People rely on me but I don't rely on myself. How to do? I demand your advice for this challenge. Please help me to get ready before that day. It's not a joke, I am serious.
Comments
regarding your assignment tell them you will do your best to your ability .
Focus in learning and practicing . Your in the correct place here at EC . You could write blogs
listen to audios regularly especially the Wednesday news desk by Tara Benwell. All four skills are presented . listening reading writing (comprehension questions)and speaking it out .
Commenting on other members blogs too boosts confidence and enhances the vocabulary .
at the chatroom you could observe the chatters and join them . one could moderate a topic of interest among st your selves . you could exchange with those who wish to speak your skypw id and contact them for voice discussions .
listen to videos and audios ,films and good drama to identify accents and good pronunciation .
all the best your doing well for people to need you as their translator :)
Yes, I did the JOB yesterday. And it was well done. My villager and his friend were happy; so was I. They asked me to be available for next times. HUMMMM! My English will be better. I got a way to improve my English. I learned a lot from this site. The truth is that I am an English teacher in a french speaking country. I am just teaching English to the beginners. An English Teacher who doesn't master English! What a shame. IT is the reason why I am doing my best to be a good teacher , not a "killer". Thanks again
So, how have you passed your translation?
It is already Sunday 5th.
Share your experience please.
Hi Ousmane!
I'm not sure if I can help. Maybe you should find a native speaker friend OR watch any videos in Youtube where there is a speaker who speaks English. :)
Happy learning!
"I understand English when it is written or spoken very slowly.
I am of the same Ousmane Ouedraogo.
The only solution (In my opinion) is to listen to English (all kind of, American, British, European) a lot. It is my personal experience, I am living in USA, now I am getting to understand this spoken "guttural" sounds little by little.
hahaha, I'm sorry but is a funny situation... At least you're honest with yourself when you say that in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is the king XD
No worries, just translate the main idea, you'll get it just fine. But if not, you can always blame a bad connection or a very broad accent XD
Good luck and let us know how it was.
Thanks a lot for these useful advice. I'll take into account all these tips to succeed my first conversation with a native english speaker. Your are very special persons for me. You accepted to share , to help. Be blessed.
I think u won't find any difficulties in translating this phone call . Because , it will be the everyday talk with no obscurities or hard to understand vocabularies . So , go ahead and don't refuse to offer help . If u are confronted by any kind of difficulties , just ask him to write the words and look them up in the dictionary . Finally , don't feel shy because u are slow " No one construct a city in one day " we all started learning slowly . BEST OF LUCK :)