Before I go to Israel, I stayed in London for ten days for sight seeing.
I took two months intensive English class in Toronto, Canada in prior to visit Israel (the Kibbutz organiser requested all volunteers to be able to spead either Hebrew, Arabic or English...so my ony choice then was English).
I had really good time in Toronto and got pretty good confidence to communicating in English so I wasn't worry about communication matter while stay in London.
....Wrooong!
I wasn't aware about there was distinguish different in accent, at least for newly trained foreigner!
My Canadian accent trained ear coudn't figure out hardly any English accent speaking!!
I got really shocked and devastated.
Because what can I do when I go to Israel if I don't understad English???
My agony was saved by a Texan tourist couple I met in underground.
I managed to understand clearly what they were talking about !
Then I concluded that there was no problem in my English comprehension skills.
I just didn't get those English accent.
... I never knew I ended up to speak in English-Japanese accent 10 years later.
Well, Any American or Australian people I met now are impressed with my "English" accent, of course except those "English" people are never think I speak in English accent but Japanese!
Comments:
nanae (March 19, 2007. 12:23am)
Before I go to Israel, I stayed in London for ten days for sight seeing.
I took two months intensive English class in Toronto, Canada in prior to visit Israel (the Kibbutz organiser requested all volunteers to be able to spead either Hebrew, Arabic or English...so my ony choice then was English).
I had really good time in Toronto and got pretty good confidence to communicating in English so I wasn't worry about communication matter while stay in London.
....Wrooong!
I wasn't aware about there was distinguish different in accent, at least for newly trained foreigner!
My Canadian accent trained ear coudn't figure out hardly any English accent speaking!!
I got really shocked and devastated.
Because what can I do when I go to Israel if I don't understad English???
My agony was saved by a Texan tourist couple I met in underground.
I managed to understand clearly what they were talking about !
Then I concluded that there was no problem in my English comprehension skills.
I just didn't get those English accent.
... I never knew I ended up to speak in English-Japanese accent 10 years later.
Well, Any American or Australian people I met now are impressed with my "English" accent, of course except those "English" people are never think I speak in English accent but Japanese!