Стр. 38 - Skurikhin_Communicative style

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b.
stupid when I speak.
c.
Irritated. If they can’t speak English, they shouldn’t be at this meeting.
d.
Impressed. My colleague is demonstrating excellent self-confidence and
determination to overcome a language barrier. And they’re making lots of useful
contributions to the meeting.
4.
At your meeting, everyone is talking at the same time in English. You can follow
their conversations, but you’re a few seconds behind. By the time you’ve thought of
something to say, and planned how to say it, the conversation has moved on. How often
do you experience this feeling?
a. All the time.
b. Quite often.
c. Rarely or never.
5.
You are at a meeting in English where you understand about 60–80% of what you
hear. What do you do?
a.
Keep interrupting to check what’s going on. It’s a bit embarrassing and frustrating
for others, but it’s important that I understand.
b.
Participate actively in the meeting. From time to time I’ll misunderstand the topic
and my contributions will sound a bit stupid, but I’m prepared to take the risk.
c.
Sit quietly and listen so as to avoid sounding stupid by talking about the wrong
topic.
6.
Who is responsible for overcoming your problems with English?
a.
Nobody. I make mistakes but it’s not a problem. I’m paid for my professional
skills, not for being an expert in English.
b.
My employer. They should provide more English lessons and give me time to
study. My teacher could also do more to improve my English. Also, the other people at
meetings should try to help me more.
c.
Me.
ANALYSIS
Check your score (on p.65) and read the analysis. Discuss with a partner whether
you agree. Try to come up with some good advice for the three types of person.
STRATEGIES
Now match these strategies with the type of person who needs them most,
perfectionists
or
risk-takers
. (
Typical users
would benefit from all of the strategies).
a.
Record yourself speaking at a meeting in English (e.g. using a Dictaphone). Later,
listen to your ‘performance’ (e.g. while travelling home from work) and try to correct
some of the mistakes you hear.
b.
Learn a few “interrupting phrases” like
Can I just say something
? or
Sorry to
interrupt, but ….
These phrases will give you time to plan what you’re going to say. The
best one-word interrupting phrase is
But
…, or you could simply say the person’s name.
c.
Learn hundreds of new words. Be systematic and organised – if you learn 10 new
words per day for a year, you can increase your vocabulary by 3650 words! Think what
that would do for your fluency and confidence.
d.
Actively try to involve less confident colleagues by asking their opinions
frequently and listening patiently while they speak.
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