What to do when you are missing a word:
When I first work with clients, they often get half-way through a sentence, realise they are missing a word and either panic or get totally frustrated. They then either stop speaking all together or start apologising for how bad their English is.
It is important you accept that when speaking a foreign language, no matter how much vocab you learn, there will be times when you don't know the word you want*. The key is how you react when this happens. It's only a big deal, if you make it into a big deal.
So what should you do if you are half way through a sentence and you realise you don't know a word that you need?
Firstly, stay calm. Just pause, take a breath and see if the word appears.
If this doesn't work, have a quick think. Is there another similar word you could use?- it doesn't have to be perfect. Or is there is a way you can explain the word or rephrase the sentence?
If none of these work, it is quite OK to ask a colleague for help (if that's possible) or say 'Excuse me, I just need to check a word' and quickly use a translation app. To make this as quick as possible if the meeting is online, always have a translation app open and ready to use.
Remember, in real life the aim is communication. It's not an exam.
If somebody asks you a question and you give them a clear, informative answer, they are happy with your response. If you had to take five seconds to look up one word, it will not matter at all.
*While you can not prepare for every situation, you should aim to know all the common words related to your job or words that you can predict that will come up in your work. Have a look here to see how I recommend learning these.
It is important you accept that when speaking a foreign language, no matter how much vocab you learn, there will be times when you don't know the word you want*. The key is how you react when this happens. It's only a big deal, if you make it into a big deal.
So what should you do if you are half way through a sentence and you realise you don't know a word that you need?
Firstly, stay calm. Just pause, take a breath and see if the word appears.
If this doesn't work, have a quick think. Is there another similar word you could use?- it doesn't have to be perfect. Or is there is a way you can explain the word or rephrase the sentence?
If none of these work, it is quite OK to ask a colleague for help (if that's possible) or say 'Excuse me, I just need to check a word' and quickly use a translation app. To make this as quick as possible if the meeting is online, always have a translation app open and ready to use.
Remember, in real life the aim is communication. It's not an exam.
If somebody asks you a question and you give them a clear, informative answer, they are happy with your response. If you had to take five seconds to look up one word, it will not matter at all.
*While you can not prepare for every situation, you should aim to know all the common words related to your job or words that you can predict that will come up in your work. Have a look here to see how I recommend learning these.