Some words of inspiration - you're better than you think you are!

Since I've joined Ebaby, I've had the chance to talk to a pretty good number of people. I'm not sure of how many  but I've spoken to quite a few using microphones on msn or yahoo.  The point of this blog is to tell you all how really good you are when you speak English!

First, let me tell you about my 'control' group. I work in a huge box store here in Canada. I design and sell kitchens and I get to meet people from all over the world. Toronto is the most culturally diverse city in the world so my customers are very different in their countries of origin. The people I have spoken to on Ebaby speak just as well or better than almost every customer that I talk to at work. Of course I mean customers who have a discernible accent, not the native English customers I deal with. 

Besides my customers, I have co-workers from many different countries as well. These are people who work here in Canada, earning a living and enjoying the multitude of benefits that Canada has to offer.  I know that you might think this is a stretch of the truth but everyone I have talked to from Ebaby speaks as well and quite often better than many of my  co-workers. 

My last control group is my neighbours here in Scarborough, which is part of Toronto. The man who lives across the street has been in Canada for probably 50 years. When we have a conversation, I can only understand about 20% of what he says. The lady who lives two doors down is a bit better, maybe 75% of what she says I can understand. She has been in Canada for 40 years or more. I could go on and give more examples but I think you get my point.

You're better than you think you are!

Don't get down on yourself! Everyone I have talked to can speak just as well and quite often many times better than the people in my comparison groups. Usually it is a simple lack of confidence that keeps people from realizing that they are much better than they think they are. If you are worried about your vocabulary, don't be!  How many words do you think we use in everyday conversation? Not as many as you think. If you are worried about your pronunciation, don't be! I can guarantee that most of you speak just as well as most of the people I deal with everyday. If you can record an MP3 and send it to me, I will rate you on a scale of 1 to 10. Ok? Send me a message and I will send you my email and I'll send you a rating once I get your recording. A wav file would work too but they are much larger than an mp3.  Give it a shot, I'm open to almost anything you want to send.