Then, I realized that I could not keep feeling inferior. I decided to break through my nervousness. I figured out that it was not my linguistic proficiency to blame, but there was a body of sociocultural knowledge that I had not had and I needed to gain in order to use effectively the linguistic knowledge I had. Living and studying in America was my chance to improve my English, especially my oral skills. The environment supports me to increase my English competencies. Hence, I started building my confidence. I initiated to talk with American people. It was kind of suprising for me that they did not make a fun of my language. They spoke in the rate of speech that I could understand. They still used many phrasal verbs but they did not mind explaining to me or repeating what they had said if I did not understand them. I paid attention their word choices. I also tried to imitate how they said the words or how they opened their mouth when they said the words. Then, I started learning about phrasal verbs and slangs used by American people.
Communication Conflicts and Breakdowns
