If English is your second (or third or more) language, but you are working in English every day, then you are probably exhausted at the end of your workday. Working in your second language is hard, I know. I have worked in my second language - French - my entire life. I live in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The official language is French, although I come from an English-speaking family.

I know that the biggest problems facing L2 English speakers is understanding regular English conversation. Conversational English doesn't sound like the English you learned at school. It's very, very fast. All the words are jumbled together. When you can hear the words, they sometimes don't make sense, because the speaker is using a cultural expression that you don't know. I'll tell you something else... you are often afraid to say that you don't understand. You think it will make you look stupid and unable to do your job.

STOP BEING AFRAID!

You aren't bad at your job. Your manager, or your coworkers are bad at speaking to you. It will take you months or years to learn how to understand fast, connected conversational English. It will take your manager two seconds to start speaking more slowly and more clearly, but they don't realize the problem. You have to tell them. No one else can, although I am trying.

If you look on the Homepage of the website, you will see a link to my TEDx Talk. This is my first effort to teach Ethnic English speakers how to talk to English second-language speakers. In my video, I give them two techniques that, if they use them, will make your life easier. You can watch the video and then ask you manager to use them, or ask your manager to watch the video. You have to speak up for yourself, no one can do it for you.

I am creating some books and courses that teach L1 (First Language) English-Speakers how to speak in a way that L2 (Second Language) speakers like you can understand. I will also be creating a course that teaches you how to decode and understand conversational English better.

For now, there is a link at the Top of the Homepage to my TikTok Channel. That channel is for you, to help you understand conversational English.

I know how you feel, and I will doing everything I can help you.