Short Essay : Communication Between English and Non-English Speakers
"Whoa, you can like, speak English? No way, like a native or something!" This was a catchphrase of a former supervisor during my time at a certain company. He seemed to believe that calling someone “native” just because they could use a bit of English would somehow flatter them. It struck me as shallow. In the professional world, whether during meetings, business exchanges, or social dinners, I’ve had numerous opportunities to use English. Over time, I’ve observed two ideals emerge: *Achieving near-native fluency in English is, of course, desirable. *Yet, equally critical is the ability to communicate effectively with those for whom English is not their mother tongue. These ideals reflect a challenging paradox. The Challenge of Non-Native Communication Having attended an international high school, one of the most valuable lessons I gained wasn’t just English proficiency—it was the ability to comm...