Learning a new language can be challenging, but it is also beneficial – especially the English language. It is the most spoken language in the world, and the official language of the skies (meaning every pilot must be proficient in spoken English). By learning the English language, you can open doors to whole new worlds. It will make travelling easier and may even lead to work and business opportunities in Australia or another English-speaking country.
Many of us have had embarrassing or awkward moments while learning the language, but do not give up because you are not alone. So many people including myself have been through similar experiences to what you may be facing now and today some of my SBS Radio colleagues and I will be sharing our embarrassing and awkward stories from when we were learning Australian English.
My story
Arezo Younes
I am a headache
She looked at me and said “I know! You are all headaches.” As she laughed, she taught me to say that “I have a headache." Looking back, it makes me laugh, but at the time I was so embarrassed that I'd called myself “a headache."
Another time that same teacher was talking about hot dogs. I immediately exclaimed
"Yuck!" and made a surprised face. The teacher said,
It’s not that you catch a dog, kill it, cut it into pieces, cook it and eat it hot.
At the time, this is exactly what I thought a hot dog was, and even now as I write this it still makes me laugh. So don't be discouraged if someone laughs or makes fun of you because one day you too will be laughing as you remember it all.
Abdullah's story
Abdullah Ali Khil - SBS Pashto Source: SBS
Learning English has been a fascinating journey and still goes on, and for me personally, the pronunciation of names and understanding the slang has always been a challenge. There are many incidents of both embarrassing and exciting moments while learning the English language. I remember once, I shared a joke and my English-speaking friends laughed and said,
You are funny
I got offended thinking they meant that I was a clown, because in my culture when you call someone funny that's usually a negative thing.
The other challenge has been the selection of words in conversation. I would usually pick words from the Afghan language and translate them into English, however those words often sounded rude or inappropriate, so I had to clarify myself and apologise if it sometimes made the other person feel uncomfortable.
Ruba's story
SBS Arabic - Ruba Mansour Source: SBS
One of the funny experiences that I had was when I first came to Australia from Lebanon and the word ‘muffin’ was completely new to me. I was in my English class, and we were talking about our morning, but instead of saying I had a coffee and a muffin for breakfast I said that
I had a coffee and a muffler
(the car exhaust). The teacher laughed and said that I think you want to say
muffin not muffler
and she explained the difference between the two. The whole class started laughing, including myself.
My message to everyone learning English is to never feel embarrassed from making mistakes because that is how we learn, every mistake we make is a new lesson and if at any time you are not sure about something please ask because everyone around us is willing to help. Also, never underestimate your knowledge and abilities if you are working on improving them.
Afnan's story
Afnan Malik - SBS Urdu Source: SBS
When my friend was new to Australia and learning English, he used to translate sentences from his mother tongue Urdu into English. One day, when he was at work in a convenience store, a guy came in asking for a hairdresser`s address which was just around the corner. My friend wanted to guide him but as he was translating and was in the process of learning the sentence, he said to the guy,
Get out of the store and go to the end of the street
That guy got very angry and started swearing at him and my friend had no clue what happened and why he was being cursed and shouted at for no reason. It was hilarious and he still laughs about it when he tells people.
Sahil's story
Sahil Makkar the editor shares a funny incident that happened to one of his close friends.
I was at a friend's house for a gathering and one of my friends who newly arrived in Australia from India pronounced someone's name incorrectly. We always laugh about it. The person’s name was
Lachlan
and my friend called him
Laa—cha—lan
Now we make jokes and laugh our guts out every time, we find a name difficult to pronounce and call it Lal Chand which is a very old name in Hindi.
My advice to all new migrants is please don’t be shy about asking a person how to spell or pronounce their name correctly. The person will not feel bad if you ask but if you say it incorrectly, they may mind it.
Mistakes are part of learning a language
It's impossible to learn something without making some mistakes. So remember, if you have also experienced some embarrassing or funny moments learning English, you are not alone!