Often, having studied English, it would seem, in all its manifestations and complexities, having passed all kinds of tests and knowing exactly your intermediate(intermediate) level, you suddenly encounter some kind of obstacle that can greatly interfere with you. It seems that everything is clear in the book: you read and translate texts freely, after a little thought, you make sentences yourself, you have a basic vocabulary. But as soon as you break out in life somewhere beyond your habitual life and find yourself, for example, at customs, at an airport, a foreign hotel, as if it paralyzes you, and you cannot even remember elementary words. This means one thing - you are faced with a language barrier. The language barrier

Taking the language barrier is a victory over yourself

This often happens when moving from theory to practice with almost every second beginner. But in many respects this problem is far-fetched and has psychological nature. That is, in other words, the language barrier is a "chimera" generated by our imagination and our fears. She dissipates like horrible dream when you walk towards her. Yes, yes, to make sure that there is actually no monster at the bottom of the lake, you need to put on scuba gear and boldly dive to the bottom of this very lake.

Also, the answer to the question of how to overcome the language barrier in English will turn out to be tritely simple - you need to start speaking this language, albeit in a broken one, albeit incorrectly, without thinking that they will not understand you or start laughing. And when you are convinced that your first dialogue turned out well and that you managed, even if not without the help of gestures, to convey to the interlocutor what you wanted, then your barrier will crumble into thousands of fragile fragments.
Therefore, the first thing you should do is to kill the fear and insecurity in yourself.

The reason for the language barrier is our own fears

To kill your fears, you need to understand their causes.

1. First reason. You are afraid of making grammatical mistakes: after all, English is very difficult! Wait... Who told you that? Let's debunk this myth.
   • Look how many permanent unchangeable endings there are in English - all case declensions occur mainly due to prepositions. In this sense, the Russian language is a "Persian letter" for a foreigner. Of course, the preposition in English must be chosen wisely, but their meanings are not difficult to remember. For example:
     by the book- by books e
     with the book - from books oh
     without the book - no books and
   • But in English language strict word order in sentences - you might object. Yes, but is it so difficult to learn it if you know this scheme, which is valid for most English sentences:
     In affirmative:

     Subject + auxiliary tense verb + predicate (main semantic verb) + addition + circumstance

     AT interrogative sentence question word (if any) and auxiliary moved to the beginning of the sentence.
     Learn to think in English in the same sequence, and then the translation of thoughts into words will occur intuitively quickly

   • Well, how do you actually figure out which auxiliary or semantic verb to use, because in English, who counted 12, and who and as many as 16 tenses? Such a number can scare even experienced connoisseurs.
     But don't get scared. For free communication it is actually enough for you to know all the times of the groups Simple and Perfect, as well as Present Continuous , which is actually 7 times. Why the advantage to the Perfect group, and not Continuous? I remind you again - if it is more important for you to talk about the duration than about the perfect or imperfect action, that is, if you do not see the difference between "I did" and "I did", but it is very important for you to tell how you choked for three hours in queues at the sale, then learn first of all Continuous
2. The second and no less terrible reason is the thought, how not to lose face, because the interlocutor knows English probably better, he has lived here for a long time and works in a job where fools will not be hired.
   And here you are wrong! There are far fewer true English speakers abroad than you might think if you are also going to France or the Czech Republic, Thailand or Turkey. You are much more likely to meet there - and among the staff, and among tourists, and among the indigenous people - people for whom English is international language communication, but not native, and therefore they will speak it far from impeccably. Your "broken" and their perfectly get along.
3. And the third reason for your fear is the constant feeling of lack of words, a kind of verbal "oxygen" starvation.
   Here, too, it would be useful to remind you that base words it doesn't take much to communicate, only 850, and you may be underestimating your vocabulary.

Ways to overcome the language barrier

Overcoming the language barrier Let's briefly summarize the tips on how to overcome the language barrier.

1. Destroy fear in yourself, speak and communicate boldly, do not be afraid to look ridiculous.
2. Create and maintain an environment for communication, break out of the usual circle often and travel more
3. Make sure you know English and that it is not difficult by repeating grammar rules
4. Expand your vocabulary if it seems small to you:
   if you learn 20 words every day, then in a month and a half you will master all Basic English

A little pre-workout never hurts

Work through situations in advance by rehearsing possible options conversations. I offer some of them.

For example, you are going on an excursion to one of European countries. You may experience the following situations.

The situation at the airport and the plane

Tell me please, when will departure of next flight to Paris have been? — Please tell me when the next flight to Paris leaves?
How do I go to the registration? — How do I get registered?
How much is one ticket? — How much is one ticket?
Can you sell two tickets near to each other? - Can you sell two tickets next to each other?
When will the registration be finished? — When does registration end?
Don't you know how much we have to fly? — You don't know how much more we have to fly?
Can you let me your seat near the window? “Could you give me your seat by the window?”
Sorry, I feel bad can you help me? — I'm sorry, I feel bad, could you help me?
Have I time to go to the end of the cabin before boarding of the plane? — I will have time to go to the back of the cabin before the plane lands?

The situation on the street, in urban public transport

Tell me please, how can I go to the bus stop Revolution Square? — Please tell me how can I get to bus stop Revolution square?
Will I go to the hotel on the Boulevard of Roses, if I have gone in this direction? — Will I be able to walk to the hotel on Boulevard des Roses if I walk in this direction?
Drive me, please, to the hotel Esther. — Please take me to the Esther Hotel
How much do I owe you? — How much do I owe you?

The situation in the hotel

Hello, I reserved a room at your hotel on March 28. Can I take it? - Hello. I booked a room at your hotel on March 28th. Can I borrow it?
Do you have free room? — Do you have a free room?
Can I order a dinner in my room? — Can I have dinner in my room?
Please bring me two bottles of fruit drinks in my room at 8:00 pm — Please bring me two bottles of fruit drink to my room at 8 pm
I want to visit the Louvre tomorrow. Don't you have a guide book or can you explain to me how can I find it? - I want to visit the Louvre tomorrow. Do you have a guide or can you tell me how to find it??

Instruction

It is worth remembering that the impossibility of overcoming the language barrier is, first of all, purely psychological problem arising from different reasons, the main of which is the fear of looking ridiculous.
To overcome such a phobia, you can deliberately laugh at it by saying something like “Yes, I misused this word - everything, everything is gone and life is over” or “Yes, I could not pronounce this word correctly - now they will throw stones at me and start watering dirt."
By uttering such phrases, a person brings the problem to the point of absurdity and, as a rule, this helps to get rid of the root cause of fear.

If the first method is not, the language barrier can be broken down by practicing in front of a mirror.
To do this, you need to come up with some problem situation(for example, you do not know how to get to street N) and think over in detail all the phrases and appeals that you could use in the dialogue. After you can recite them confidently and with correct intonation, you need to demonstrate your skills to someone you know - for an honest, objective evaluation your his emotional state when talking.

If this did not help, then you can play on honesty - honestly admit to your interlocutor that you are very worried. Thus, you will win over the foreigner and, having spoken the problem out loud, relieve your tension.

Before the trip, try to immerse yourself in the one you need as much as possible. language environment, asking relatives and friends to communicate only on that foreign language which you need.

Most perfect way to quickly and easily overcome the language barrier is to listen to songs and watch movies in the foreign language you need. The brain itself will remember the correct pronunciation, and when you hear an unfamiliar word in the speech of the actors, you can independently find the translation in the dictionary.

Related videos

Advice 2: Which pilot was the first to break the supersonic barrier

To overcome the sound speed required not only skill, but also personal courage - no one knew how the plane would behave in extreme conditions what loads the pilot will experience. The American pilot was the first to break the sound barrier in level flight and return to base.

Officially, the first pilot from the USA, Chuck Yeager, overcame supersonic speed. The record was set on 10/14/1957 on the Bell X-1, which was specially designed for this purpose in early 1946 by Bell Aircraft. The aircraft was manufactured by order of the military, but had nothing to do with the conduct of hostilities. The car was literally crammed with research equipment. Outwardly, the Bell X-1 resembled a modern cruise missile.

Test pilot Chuck Yeager

Pilot in 1923 February 13. After graduating from school, the young man immediately entered flight school, after which he had to fight in Europe. At the very beginning of his flying career, the pilot managed to shoot down the Messerschmit-109, but later he himself was defeated in the French sky and was forced to parachute.

The pilot was picked up by partisans, but counterintelligence removed him from flying. Outraged, Chuck secured an appointment with Eisenhower, who commanded allied forces. He believed the young man and, as it turned out, not in vain: the brave pilot managed to shoot down another 13 aircraft before the end of the war.

Yeager returned home with a great track record, characteristics, awards, in the rank of captain. This contributed to the inclusion of the pilot in a special team of testers, who at that time were selected as carefully as astronauts. Chuck's plane became the Captivating Glenys, in honor of his wife. The aircraft was equipped with one jet engine and was launched from a B-52 bomber.

On a winged car, the pilot set speed records more than once: at the end of 1947, he first broke the previous height (21372 m), and in 1953 he managed to accelerate the device to almost 2800 km / h, or 2.5 M (the speed of sound is measured in “max”, by the name German philosopher, ; 1 M equals 1200 km/h). Yeager retired as a brigadier general in 1975, having managed to take part in Vietnam War and fighting in Korea.

The USSR could not stay away from attempts to overcome the sound barrier; several design bureaus at once (Lavochkin, Yakovlev, Mikoyan) participated in the preparation aircraft, which should have faster than sound. Such an honor fell to the La-176 aircraft, from Lavochkin's "company". The car was fully prepared for flights in 1948, in December. And on the 26th, Colonel Fedorov overcame the notorious barrier, accelerating in a dive. Later, the pilot received the Hero of the Soviet Union.

The language barrier is the fear of speaking another language. This fear can be in a person who has barely begun to learn a foreign language, and in someone who already knows it well. Why do some people learn the language for years and do not start speaking it, while others are ready to try to speak and speak after a few lessons? The point is that some easily overcome the language barrier, begin to speak and improve these skills. Others run into this barrier and cannot move from words and rules to speech. You can always learn words and rules, but without stepping over the language barrier, you will never speak this language. You will be able to understand and read, but you will not speak.

Reasons for the appearance of a language barrier:

• Fear of making a mistake

I'm afraid to speak, because I'm afraid to say it wrong, for a long, long time I remember the rules of grammar, I select right word. As a result, I finally lose confidence in myself, and I prefer to remain silent. I am afraid that I will be misunderstood or not understood at all.

• Fear of criticism

I'm not just afraid to make a mistake, but I'm afraid that they will laugh at me, they will criticize me. Will criticize the pronunciation, grammatical errors, the incorrectness of the chosen word or the scarcity vocabulary generally. They will say that I am ridiculous, they will say that it would be better if I were silent than speaking with this Ryazan accent.

• Lack of necessary vocabulary

This reason happens to beginners in learning a foreign language. And also for those who have been learning the language for a long time. The beginner believes that he still knows too few words to start speaking. And the one who has been doing this for many years knows many words, but always not those that are needed in specific situation. Either this word was never taught, or it is impossible to remember the right word - it spins on the tongue, but from memory to right moment don't pull out. Or I seem to remember the word, but I'm not sure that I need to say it.

• Lack of necessary knowledge of grammar

There are a lot of words in my head, but how to glue them into a coherent text is completely incomprehensible. I seem to understand everything, but I can not say. I don’t remember how verbs are conjugated, what article and preposition are needed, how nouns and adjectives decline. Speech at the level: "my yours to understand."

• Lack of fluency

I can speak, I know the words, I know all the rules. I understand which rule to apply, I remember what words to say. But I can’t speak smoothly, continuous constant pauses and stuttering.

How to overcome the language barrier?

• Overcoming the fear of making a mistake

The only thing better to do poorly than not to do at all is to speak a foreign language!

If you have the opportunity to speak in a foreign language with a native speaker, and you do not do it because you are afraid to make a mistake, then you are missing out on a lot.

First, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to communicate with interesting person and learn something new about another culture, about another people. A person of a different nationality is always very interesting for communication, he has different views on the world, on human values, on politics, culture, relations between people, on history. You will not read all this in a book, in a newspaper, or see it on TV. The true opinion of another person can only be known through live communication, because We receive a lot of information through body movements, gestures, facial expressions and intonation, and not just through words. Yes, and the foreigner himself will be very interested to talk with you and know your opinion on many issues. The fact that you speak his native language will already be very pleasant to him and cause his respect and sympathy for you. No matter how many words you can say, how many mistakes you make, speaking with another person in his language is already a sign of great respect for the culture of this people and for this people as a whole, which cannot but please its representatives. The purpose of language is primarily the exchange of information between people. It is important to convey the meaning of your thoughts to a person, and not to do it absolutely correctly. If you find yourself in another country in some difficult situation It is better to speak the language badly than not to speak at all. On the bad language You will convey the meaning of your words to local residents and get what you want. Without knowledge of the language, you are left with only the language of gestures, facial expressions and bodies, the possibilities of which are severely limited.

Secondly, you will never get rid of your mistakes, you will never be able to assess the level of your knowledge and improve it if you do not train in oral speech. Speech is like playing sports, it is the same development of muscles ( facial muscles and language as an organ), development and training of the same type of skills. Mastery of speech, like mastery of some kind of sport, is improved with each exercise. Don't miss opportunities to exercise.

Mistakes are the path to excellence. We must perceive mistakes as a blessing and learn from them. Try to do less and less each time.

• Overcoming the fear of criticism

Whose criticism are you afraid of? Critics of a foreigner? Or criticism of their compatriots?

A foreigner is unlikely to criticize you. He's more likely to respect you if you're struggling to speak his language than if you don't speak it at all or are fluent. The efforts of a person and his desire to overcome some difficulties always cause respect.

Critics of compatriots should not be afraid either. Once they were in your place, once they made the same mistakes. And it is unlikely that they do not make other mistakes in this language, because it is impossible to know a foreign language perfectly. And if your compatriot does not speak this language or speaks worse, then again your speech will command his respect.

And does it really matter what other people think about your knowledge of a foreign language? Why are you learning the language? It is unlikely that someone specific would tell you: "well done." You want to communicate on it, you want to read books, watch movies, use it in your studies or work. Therefore, it is better for you to focus on this goal and train in your speech skills, and not think about someone else's opinion. With each new communication experience, you will speak better, each attempt to say something brings you closer to the moment freehold languages, i.e. to the point when you will not be reachable for someone else's criticism. Think about your prospects, not today's difficulties.

• Building the necessary vocabulary

How many words do you need to know to speak a foreign language? What words should be learned? How to teach them?

This is important questions and they torment every person who studies a foreign language. Different languages ​​are made up of different quantity words from tens to hundreds of thousands of words. Is it really necessary to learn all or most of it in order to speak a foreign language? In fact, the amount of vocabulary required for fairly free communication in a foreign language is quite small. According to statistics, when communicating in any language, 80% of our speech is based on only three hundred words. That is, knowledge of the most frequently used words in speech is quite enough for communication. 300 words to learn is quite realistic. You mastered the multiplication table. And it's even easier. Moreover, many of these words do not even have to be taught. Some of the words are international, only slightly changing their pronunciation and spelling. Many foreign words are already in our native language, they could change their endings, get additional suffixes or prefixes. But you can recognize them and it becomes easy to learn (for example, almost all Russian words ending in -tion, you can easily speak French with the ending -sion and you will not miss, the Frenchman will understand you).

Of course, you still have to learn most of these 300 words. How to understand what words to learn?

We need to learn the words that we use most often and in mother tongue. Here is a basic list of principles for how to build such a vocabulary:

• We start with verbs related to movements (walk, run, drive, etc.), feelings (look, hear, understand, etc.), everyday activities(sleep, eat, speak, read, work, etc. Verbs are the basis of any speech, on which all other words are strung.
• We connect pronouns in all their forms (I, you, we ... mine, yours, ours ... me, you, us ...).
• We connect nouns (time (days, years, months, days of the week), food, transport, main objects on the street (house, tree, road ...), etc.).
• Adjectives (colors, basic qualities and properties of objects (big-small, long-short, warm-cold)
• Adverbs (also the most popular: dark-light, cold-hot, morning-evening ...)
• Basic conjunctions, prepositions, question words, articles and particles.

With this simple list of words, you can express your feelings, talk about yourself, ask right questions. These words are equally important and necessary in any language, in any spoken language. In order to simply communicate, you do not need to know all the possible words denoting one concept, but with different shades of meaning. One word close in meaning will be enough. The same idea can be expressed in different ways. But you just need to know one of the simplest and most obvious ways.

It is desirable to expand this list specific words that are related specifically to your hobbies, to your profession, to your interests. Because if you talk to a foreigner in his language, then most likely you will talk about what you are personally interested in, you will talk about yourself, you will express your opinion on those issues that concern you. So think about what words you need for such a conversation, and familiarize yourself with it in the language you are learning.

How to learn words? In no case should you learn the words written in a column. This is the longest and most inefficient way. Words need to be taught in context, you need to select associations for them.

You can learn words in groups if they belong to the same topic, in pairs if they are synonyms or antonyms. It is important to try to immediately insert each new word into a phrase, “try on” this word with other words you know, imagine situations where this word may be needed, and pronounce the appropriate phrases out loud or to yourself, adding the necessary emotional coloring your speech. So you will create the semantic and emotional associations necessary for memorization.

Those words that you could not remember at the right time are best remembered. You had to think for a long time to remember or find the right word, but you never found it. If this happened to you, then look up the right word in the dictionary and try to say the phrase you wanted. If you do this, then there is a high probability that you will never forget this word, it will remain in your memory, because it will be associated with a real life situation.

• Grammar Mastery

There are two opposing opinions about the need to know the grammar of a foreign language. Some people believe that in order to speak grammar is not needed at all, the meaning of speech can be caught from a simple set of words without the necessary grammatical constructions. Others believe that without knowledge of grammar, it is better not to even start speaking, since grammar greatly affects the meaning of words in a sentence. The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle.

It is necessary to know the grammar rules, but it is not necessary to know everything. The list is valid important rules small. It is much easier to master than the whole variety of grammatical structures of any language. Naturally, it is most important to study the most commonly used constructions in speech:

• Declensions and conjugations of pronouns (I-me-me, you-you-you, etc.)
• Verb conjugations with pronouns in 3 basic tenses (simple present, future and past), i.e. it is absolutely not necessary to know all 9 tenses of the English language for simple communication
• How do question and negation form in all these three tenses
• The order of words in a sentence, if it is strict, and is it possible to replace some grammatical structures with a simple intonation (for example, in colloquial French speech affirmative sentence can be made interrogative by simply changing the intonation, which is not possible in English or German)
• In some languages, it is still important to be able to decline articles, adjectives and nouns by gender, person, number and case (in English only number and person play a role, in Russian and German all components are important, in written French speech everything is also important, but in oral french speech most of endings are not read or sound the same in all forms)

As you can see, there are few rules, it’s real to deal with this list. But you will say: well, let's say I know and understand these rules in theory, but when I start talking, I forget and confuse everything, I think over each phrase for a long time in order to formulate it correctly. How to be?

Unfortunately, simply understanding and knowing grammar rules is not enough to easily and effortlessly use them in speech. When we speak our native language, we don't remember what form a verb needs to be in or what ending to use in a noun to say it correctly. We speak without thinking about the rules at all. We know the grammar of our native language at the level of reflexes. So, in order for the grammar of a foreign language to become the basis free speech on it, so that you can think in this language, then it must also become a reflex for you.

How is a reflex formed? Only through repetition. You can turn the lights on and off in your room with eyes closed but you didn't learn how to do it right away. First you looked where the switch was, stopping in front of it and even looking for it, and then you pressed it. After some time, you began to do it in passing, without even thinking, and sometimes you don’t even remember whether you turned off the light in the room or not. You come back, look - the light is not on, but you don’t remember how you raised your hand and pressed the switch. But after all, it was not an innate reflex and was formed not in infancy, but in adulthood. It is also possible in adulthood to bring the knowledge of the grammar of a foreign language to a reflex.

How to achieve this? Same as with the switch. Regular and short workouts. You did not stand for hours at the switch with your eyes closed to hit it with your hand. You did this a couple of times a day, spending a couple of seconds doing it. And this scheme works with grammar. You need to spend a couple of minutes every or almost every day practicing a rule that is difficult for you. For example, take one verb in the morning while brushing your teeth and conjugate it with all pronouns, three times in an interrogative or affirmative form. And in the evening, conjugate another verb in the same way. At first you can hang a sign with the rules in the bathroom, gradually you can remove it. In a month you will already do it without thinking, and you will be able to use this rule in speech. Then you can even forget the rule itself, and verbs with certain pronouns will just automatically get the right endings. It will cease to be a rule for you, it will become a reflex.

You won't get it quickly. But it is not the duration of the training that matters, but its regularity! Serious efforts and time costs are not needed, only short systematic trainings are needed.

• Acquisition of the skill of fluent speech

It is important to speak neither fast nor slow. It is important to speak rhythmically and relaxed. It is important to enjoy the speech, it is important not to strain. Everyone has their own rhythm, and you need to find your own rhythm.

In order for speech to “flow” and not “stumble”, you need to master the basic vocabulary and translate several grammar rules in reflex. But besides this, you need to learn to relax while talking in a foreign language, you need to learn to enjoy it.

Also try to keep it simple. After all, the main thing is to first learn how to convey the meaning of the phrase, and not immediately make the speech very bright and colorful. One and the same meaning can be conveyed by many different meanings. Use the words you already know.

It is really a great pleasure and pride when you can talk to a foreigner in his language. Get rid of fears and insecurities, train basic speech skills and you will succeed. Having made an effort on yourself and stepping over, you will understand that you used to mark time in its study, and now nothing prevents you from running. The language will finally come to life.

Useful articles on this topic.

The language barrier

The language barrier- a phrase used in figurative meaning and denoting the difficulties in communication of people associated with the belonging of speakers to different language groups.

As a rule, we are talking about a language barrier if the communicator has difficulty in explaining his position or the listener has difficulty in understanding the position of the communicator. From this point of view, the barrier of speaking and the barrier of understanding another person are distinguished separately.

Language barrier and communication

As a rule, communication between people who speak different languages ​​is difficult. This is due to the problem of spending time and effort to master a foreign language. Therefore, people who travel a lot around the world often face a language barrier.

Overcoming the language barrier

Work on overcoming the language barrier takes place when we are talking about prolonged communication with a person or group of people. For example, when forming personal or business relations with a communicator who is a native speaker of another language, or when long stay in a group of native speakers of a foreign language.

In this case, it is possible to learn the language to overcome the language barrier or to involve a third party in communication - an interpreter.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Language barrier" is in other dictionaries:

the language barrier Vocabulary linguistic terms T.V. Foal

The language barrier- 1) Ignorance or poor knowledge of the language of the collective, which prevents the individual from realizing his intentions, making contact with members of the linguistic community. 2) Psychological setting individual, associated with low self-esteem of someone else's knowledge ... ... General linguistics. Sociolinguistics: Dictionary-Reference

The language barrier- 1. Ignorance or insufficient knowledge of the language of the collective, which prevents the individual from making contact with its members, from realizing their intentions. 2. The psychological attitude of the individual, based on low self-esteem of their knowledge ... ...

The language barrier- - a situation where ignorance of a foreign language serves as an obstacle to mutual understanding, to obtaining necessary information. Compare: “Why did they (Japanese) come?” "And who knows?" "You would ask." “How can I ask him? It’s all the same for us to talk to him, like a pig with ... ... Language contacts: concise dictionary

barrier- a m. barriere f. 1. dipl. Lands annexed to the state for safety from attack neighboring countries; in general, the territory lying between two states and separating them. Sl. 18. Mutually for that, they promised France the Netherlands ... ... Historical dictionary gallicisms of the Russian language

barrier- a, m. 1) A low barrier that prevents passage, passage. Install barriers in front of the repaired section of the road. The militia ran to the Sempleyarov's box, curious people climbed the barrier, hellish explosions of laughter were heard ... (Bulgakov). Synonyms: ... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

Language discomfort- Awareness of the inappropriate use of this idiom. At the heart of Ya.d. There may be reasons of both subjective and objective nature. So, Ya.d. may be caused by low self-esteem of the speaker, who believes that he is not good enough ... ... Dictionary of sociolinguistic terms

- (French barriere outpost). 1) gates in fortresses. 2) in arenas and circuses, a fence, a log, a pole through which a horse jumps. 3) a sign that fighters reach in a duel. 4) railing, grating. Vocabulary foreign words included in the ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

BARRIER, husband. 1. An obstacle (type of wall, crossbar) placed on the way (during jumps, running). Take b. (get over it). 2. Fence, fence. B. lodges, balconies. 3. trans. An obstacle, an obstacle to something. River natural b. for… … Dictionary Ozhegov

BUT; m. [French. barriere]. 1. An obstacle (partition, bar, etc.) on the way during sports (running, racing, etc.). Hurdling. jump over b. The horse took the hurdles one by one. 2. A low fence separating which ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Speak English. Speech simulator, Matveev, Sergey Alexandrovich. To start speaking English, you just need to step over the language barrier and start communicating. This will help you this manual. With this book, you will be able to...

Today, quite often you can hear the expression "language barrier". Moreover, each of us, most likely, has faced this problem at least once in his life. What is a language barrier?

A language barrier is any difficulty that arises in communication between people who speak different languages.

Problems in communication mainly arise for beginners who have just begun to get acquainted with a new foreign language. Because of this, it may mistakenly seem to many that over time, fear and discomfort during communication can disappear by themselves. In fact, not everything is so simple. The problem of the language barrier can also be faced by people who speak the language at an advanced level, while others, after a few lessons, can quite confidently conduct a conversation, skillfully using the small vocabulary and grammar that they have learned in the classroom.

This happens because there are two types of language barriers.

The first one is the linguistic barrier. It is caused by the fact that a person does not have enough vocabulary or knowledge of grammatical structures to express his thought. It is relatively easy to overcome such a barrier: you just need to continue learning, memorize more vocabulary, do grammar, listening or speaking exercises, read books in a foreign language. The main thing here is not to be lazy.

But the second type of language barrier - psychological - is much more difficult to deal with. The main reason for the emergence of such a barrier is the fear of making a mistake, of seeming stupid or uneducated to your interlocutor, the fear of not understanding the interlocutor, or the fear of the unknown, caused by lack of confidence in yourself or in your knowledge.

How to overcome the language barrier?

Tip #1

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Think about the fact that you are not on an exam, and your interlocutor is not a teacher. His task is not to check how well you have mastered a foreign language, he is just interested in talking with you. Moreover, remember that most people are quite friendly towards foreigners who study them. native language. They understand how great work speak a foreign language and will do their best to help you.

Tip #2

When you learn new words, do not learn them silently, but out loud, pronouncing each word thoughtfully. Try to immediately come up with an example for the word and use it in a sentence to check how well you can use the learned word in your speech. If it is still difficult for you to come up with examples on your own, learn by heart and pronounce the dialogues. The human memory is associative, so the memorized "patterns" will come up in your memory in certain communicative situations, and from them it will be much easier for you to build a complete statement.

Tip #3

If your language barrier is associated with the fear of not understanding the interlocutor, then do not hesitate to ask him to speak more slowly or ask again if you did not hear or misunderstand something. Think about the fact that if you yourself do not explain to your interlocutor that you are having difficulty understanding, he himself will not guess about it, and, therefore, will not be able to help you.

Tip #4

A good way to overcome the language barrier is to set yourself small goals in communication and achieve them. For example, if you are on vacation abroad and you need to buy in local store something, try to focus on the task itself, and not on how you will perform it. If you feel that you do not have enough vocabulary to communicate with the seller, connect gestures. Do not be afraid if during the conversation you stammered or confused words, because, in fact, the main thing is to achieve your goal, i.e. make a planned purchase.

Tip #5

6 tips to overcome the language barrier

Do not forget that for comfortable communication in any language, a relatively small vocabulary is enough - only about 800 words. If you do not know a suitable word in a foreign language, try to select analogues, use descriptive constructions, explain complex concepts using simple examples. After all, in the end, the carriers themselves sometimes do not have enough words to accurately express their thoughts, and they have to express themselves “on the fingers”.