INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ENGLISH: Five secrets to achieving world-class English

WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK?
Often when non-native speakers are taught English, they learn set sentences. A student may think they are making progress in their English and in one sense they are. However, when they take those set sentences and try to have a conversation in an English-speaking situation or they have to write spontaneous letters and emails they hit problems. Set sentences are a necessary part of the learning process, but the crucial question is how to go from set sentences to spontaneous conversation and sophisticated writing.

1. DEVELOP ENGLISH (NOT JUST LEARN IT)
Firstly, you need to believe in yourself. Confidence is key and is about believing in yourself and your ability to develop English to an international standard. Yes I used the word develop. The word develop means that you cause something to grow or change into a more advanced, larger or stronger form. English is a skill and you need to develop a skill. That means learn, consolidate, practice and do this over and over again ad infinitum.

2. USE A NATIVE SPEAKER
An international standard means a level that is understandable in a world-standard or professional business environment. Find yourself a good teacher and stick to your teacher like glue until you are totally fluent in English. I believe non-native speakers should get an English teacher like fitness buffs get a personal trainer or go to exercise classes. Find that teacher and stick to the teacher like glue (that means get very close and personal with them). Pick their brains as much as possible.

3. DO NOT RUN BEFORE YOU CAN WALK
Remember where you are and who you are communicating with. If you are in Asia many of your customers are also Asian and they will appreciate simple, straightforward English. You do not need to use fancy English. The adage: Do not run before you can walk means that you should master the simple before you go on to more complex sentence structures and vocabulary. In fact, one of the most famous judges in the UK, Lord Denning, was consistently praised for his simple, straightforward and thus easy to understand sentences. Keep it simple as much as possible in business communications. That applies whether you are in Asia, Europe or America. It is about getting business, doing business and keeping customers and clients happy. You are not doing an English exam!

4. YOU ARE IN CONTROL
You can choose the language you use and it can be simple. Always remember you are in charge of what comes out of your mouth, pen and typing. However, you may receive emails that are complex, so it is good to know and understand complex English as well. You may also receive emails that are difficult to understand. This may not be a lack of understanding on your part. It may be because the writer is not using the best English. Here are a number of problems contained in emails:

1. Too much Chinglish is used. In Asia, English is affected by the Chinese language and so the English sentence structure and use of English words have developed into a hybrid called Chinglish. This is an extra dimension to think about when receiving emails from East Asia and South-east Asia.
2. Not enough verbs or in some extreme situations no verbs are used. The correct verb tense is a great challenge for some people.
In these situations, the remedy is to clarify.

5. A POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Always remember you are not taking an exam. You can ask the person sending the email to clarify.

Many people read emails too quickly. If you are one of those people read the email a second time and more carefully. If you still cannot understand, may be it is you. Check with a friendly colleague and see if they agree with you. If it is still not clear, then clarify with the writer.
A clarification is to make something clearer or easier to understand by either getting another explanation or obtaining more details. For example, I would be grateful if you could clarify your first point please? I do not understand it completely. Alternatively and, usually it is more polite to do so, you could state your understanding and ask for confirmation that your understanding is correct. Always ask politely. Remember this is a business relationship and clients should be treated with kid gloves as much as possible. Kid gloves are made of soft leather and so you should treat customers with as much kindness and courtesy that you can muster. You treat them with extra care because they are your livelihood. That is when you treat them with kid gloves and show you value the relationship.