One of my English students, Khalid, has excellent pronunciation (which, I should mention, isn't entirely unusual for Moroccans speaking English even as their third or fourth language). Still, his pronunciation is impressive considering that he is a "high beginner" and that he generally doesn't talk.
Today in class, we listened to a short conversation from the CD that comes with our textbook. The people having the conversation were Scottish and, thus, spoke with a Scottish accent. When I asked the students to repeat and practice the conversation, Khalid immediately adopted a Scottish accent.
I was a little jealous of his ability.
I know what you mean. I felt the same way about one of the Mongolian tour guides (?) who visited NWC a few years ago. The others in the group could hardly say "My name is ....", while this particular guy could have given a lecture on Mongolia at Oxford. It was not just his diction, it was his lucid and articulate delivery as well. In fact, someone in the audience commended him on his command of English, and the remarks seemed to be out of genuine admiration. I wished I had a comparable command of English. I also knew a Sri Lankan girl who took to German like a duck to water, and a young Chinese student who mastered English so well in one year of going to school in the USA that she sounded like a native speaker. The ability to master languages is a rare and useful talent.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Hilarious! -L, Oregon
ReplyDeleteCitrine, first of all, your command of English vocabulary and grammar is far better than that of many people who grew up in the United States, England, etc. Second of all, just in case this makes you feel any better, I'll tell you that this particular student has excellent pronunciation (especially in imitation situations) but isn't actually that adept at spontaneously speaking in English or using it to communicate. But I have encountered many Moroccans who have wowed me with their linguistic abilities.
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