How To Be More Confident in Natural British English
When you speak in a foreign language, like British English, the natural confidence you have when speaking your native tongue can suddenly disappear. You can lack the right words, accidentally say phrases that don’t sound natural or panic because you think you aren’t making sense. Luckily, there are natural British English words and phrases you can use to buy yourself more time, rephrase what you didn’t feel confident about, and help you to regain control of the conversation so you sound and feel more confident. The most common ones that native speakers use are listed below.
(1) Vocabulary to use if you don’t know the right word.
DO USE natural English:
“Thingy” (noun) = natural British English word commonly used to describe an object you have temporarily forgotten the name of.
E.g. “Please can you pass me the thingy?” (+ point at the item you want) “No, not that thingy, the other thingy, on the left.” (informal)
Synonyms for ‘thingy’ include:
– thingamabob (very informal)
– thingamajig (very informal)
DON’T USE textbook English:
“I don’t know the word.”
(2) Phrases to give yourself more time to think.
DO USE natural English:
“Give me one second…” (neutral)
“Hang on… ” (informal)
“It’ll come back to me in a minute… ah, yes…” (neutral)
DON’T USE textbook English:
“I need time to think about this.”
(3) Phrases to use after you say something you think others didn’t understand.
DO USE natural English:
“What I mean is…” + explain in another way
“That is to say…” + explain in another way
DON’T USE textbook English:
“Sorry, my English is bad.”
(4) Phrases to show your confidence in what you are saying
DO USE natural English:
“Anyway, what I was saying was… “ (neutral)
“Going back to the point I was making…” (neutral)
“As I was saying / explaining / pointing out….” (neutral)
DON’T USE textbook English:
“Let me say that again.”
If any of these phrases help you to be more confident in natural British English, let us know!
We love to hear your success stories here at PS English!
Take care,
Emma / PS English Teacher
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