Ah?! No, no no ‘pulizia! – cleaning- ahhhhhh not ‘police!’…. In the car after dinner I asked Enri, what that story was all about …. I didn’t have the confidence to say ‘ I’m lost, I don’t understand’. Now, it upset me because I am a shy person, I didn’t feel confident with my Italian… but what had upset me the most wasn’t that I hadn’t understood… it’s that I hadn’t spoken up. *to pluck up (the) courage = to force yourself to be brave But inside I was feeling left out and maybe a little bit stupid. By the time I had formulated my question in my head because I wanted to say, W hat does ‘police’ have to do with this story?…by the time I plucked up the courage* to ask this, the conversation had already moved on and it was too late to bring it up again, and return to that point. So I just laughed along, nodded my head, smiled, ahahahhah…. It just had no sense – and I really couldn’t understand why everyone was laughing. But you see I was getting more and more puzzled, because they kept repeating this word…but in the context of the conversation ….polizia…blfhfjahfjf….polizia …jdsjkghksgj…. What happened was, at a certain point of the conversation they started talking ‘ polizia’ which means police in Italian. I could follow simple discussions and I could speak in a simple way, and I was able to join in somewhat. All the group were Italian, I was the only foreigner, and I probably had an A2 level of Italian at that time -so pre– intermediate. Let me tell you a story – many many years ago, I was at a dinner party with my boyfriend, and his friends. Don’t nod and smile and sit there feeling left out* of the discussion This lesson is going to look at three common mistakes that we make and I want to show that these reactions to not understanding are ineffective and unhelpful when you are in this kind of situation.Īnd if you learn not to do them, it will help keep the anxiety to a minimum. However, if you are shy like I am, it’s possible that even in social situations, not understanding can cause you stress or anxiety. Probably more so in professional situations, at work. That said, one of the biggest problems my students face is when not understanding is anxiety. *to get at = to imply When not understanding causes ANXIETY It happens between native speakers all the time. Maybe we didn’t hear properly, or maybe we just don’t understand what the person is getting at.* I think no matter* how strong your English level is, there will always be times when you don’t understand something that is being said. * struggle = fight, difficulty Don’t understand? It happens to ALL of us! Whereas, his colleagues, who are not married to a Scottish English teacher, were also finding the vocabulary and informal expressions that the native speakers were using, really hard to understand. I asked what the main problem had been, and he said the main thing for him, was speed. I asked what was up, and he said that he and his colleagues, who are Swiss and Italian, had had a real struggle* understanding the English guys during the meeting. I digress … he comes back from London tired and, let’s be honest, a little grumpy*. And the reasons for this are varied (and that’s another story!) We pretty much have the opposite thing going on – my comprehension in Italian is really strong, whereas my speaking not so much. His listening skills on the other hand aren’t as strong as his spoken skills. Now, Enri, (I think) speaks proficiently in English he’s extremely fluent and has a wide vocabulary and he even knows some Scottish words which is pretty impressive. My hubby, Enri was in London last week for work, to meet with an agency that his company uses. Īmerican indie rock band Spoon included a cover of the song on their 2014 album They Want My Soul.Read & Listen! Comprehension of native speakers is difficult – even for advanced learners The song was also covered by Willie Nelson, Jerry Reed, Les Paul and Freddie and the Dreamers. This appeared on the B-side of his Australian top 10 hit, " I (Who Have Nothing)". In 1965, Australian pop star Normie Rowe presented a rockier version. It was later recorded by the Beatles on 16 July 1963 at the BBC Paris Studio, London for the Pop Go The Beatles radio show and appeared on their 1994 compilation album Live at the BBC, with lead vocals by John Lennon. It was one of the first records to feature a fuzz-tone guitar. 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. " I Just Don't Understand" is a song written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kent Westberry, released by Swedish-born singer and American citizen Ann-Margret.
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