Random Clicks
I got pissed off just in the middle of a conversation yesterday. Before that I hadn’t chatted away with this friend for about one month. It was supposed to be
a pleasant, if not heartfelt, conversation, hadn’t he talked in such a self-deprecating tone. I can’t understand why he did that. Yes, it is true we talked in
English, but that doesn’t mean that the proficiency of the language will become a dominant issue. I never think my English is as good as a native English speaker, nor do I think his English is far lagging behind. So what is his problem?
I told him that it’s he who mattered to me not his mastery of the language. I told him that we just happened to use this language to get our ideas across. The
conversation hence should be treated seriously and sincerely, rather than just a
language practice or rehearsal. I can’t see why he totally missed the point. And not just him, I have met lots of guys at English corner, who mechanically squeezed what they recited from textbooks into a conversation, with the result of totally messing up the conversation that was supposed to be fun. So is it the deuce I or they who barked up the wrong tree?
Last night I talked to one of my Chinese friends who is studying in Germany. I was still sulking about the self-deprecating guy that I couldn’t help complaining to my friend about it. I wonder if it is because of being bilingual still not
so common that diverted people to the wrong track, or I just being so unlucky that I haven’t met interesting guys up so far. But whatever the reason is, one fact is unquestionable: don’t risk talking with Chinese guys in English unless you have to or really, really want to practice your oral English.
I remember the first few times when I met my friend from UK, he told me he was bewildered by the same phenomenon. He said the reason that he went to the English
Corner was not that he wanted to do guys there a favor, helping boosting up their language skill. He just wanted to make a few friends. After all, you can’t stay in a city alone for long unless you really think seclusion is enjoyable. But
what truly happened was always like this: People swamped him, repeatedly asking
his whereabouts and in the meantime confessing to him that their English wasn’
t so good. Can’t anything more than this put you off or turn down the conversation?
For me I am not a language geek, though I do think language learning is fun. So
shouldn’t the purpose of learning a language be for the sake of communication,
instead of language itself? I know how important English means in this highly competitive society, and how anxiously guys want to hone their language skills. But if possible, can we also beware of what we talk, apart from how we get our ideas across? After all, a real conversation is for transferring the messages, other than the language as a tool itself. Besides, to be serious, who, if he/she is
given a choice, doesn’t crave for an in-depth, enriching conversation, which isimpossible if the involved talker converses only for the sake of language practice?
