Pooh! I'm going to give you a quiz!

While walking down the street, a foreigner was walking with his dog.

But “Oomme~ is the dog so cute?” 'What is it? Welke, are you OK? ' There's something really fatal about this that you don't touch.

So I decided to have the courage to approach them and talk to them.

I'm sorry, can I touch the dog?

Now! How do you guys think you would ask this sentence in English?

Most Korean students answered like this.

Can I Touch Your Dog?

Now! This isn't an “English” wrong sentence.

But BUT!! Do real native speakers talk like this?

NOPE!!...

Can I Pet Your Dog? (O)

If you ask 10 native speakers, all 10 of them will say the same sentence as above.

We “touch,” but of course we can use the word “touch,” right?

You might think that, but native speakers use the word “pet,” which is “petting.”

everyone! So, do you know the differences between the two below?

What is the difference between “learning English” and “American”?

“Learning English” means learning the grammar, vocabulary, and expressions necessary for basic communication.

“Learning American” means learning actual English based on that country's culture.

From beginner to beginner, I learn “basic standard English,” which is the standard for all English.

(ex. Basic grammar [tense, to infinitive, relative pronouns, etc.], basic essential English words and expressions, etc.)

However, those running towards the intermediate level should learn “American” or “British” if you live in the UK, and “Canadian” if you live in Canada, instead of “Standard English, which is the default English.”

Simply put, you have to learn “expressions that local native speakers actually use every day in the middle of their lives.”

When I'm in class with my students, they have this kind of problem a lot.

Teacher, haha, native speakers don't understand my English..

Because most of my students are intermediate-level English proficient people who are about to live or are already living abroad?

No, but why? Why the hell?? Why do these things happen despite this level of skill?

Because my pronunciation is bad? Because I still don't have enough words? Because I studied less grammar?

Ding!!

The correct answer

I didn't understand the words, expressions, and sentences that native speakers usually use in that situation because I didn't write them.

As shown in the example above, “Can I touch the dog?” We are uniformly “Can I touch your dog?” They used it, but the expression they've always used is “Can I pet (or pat) your dog?” I'm using it.

Are there many foreigners learning Korean these days called Yeokji Saji?

Shall we turn it upside down and think about it?

A foreign cook would like to learn “I am hungry” in Korean while learning Korean.

So when I looked up that sentence in Korean, it said, “I'm hungry.”

They say “I'm hungry”! Understood! We use it too! But do our native Korean speakers really only use it like that?

“Ah.. Are you leaving a bit?”

“Ah.. My mouth is a little bored, do you have anything to eat?”

“Ah, are you hungry already because the beggar is hungry?”

“Yay! Baemin Cole?”

Just as the above expression is 'real Korean expressions used by Korean people, 'it means we should write the “real English expressions used by real Korean people.”

This gives you a sense of what my class is looking for, right? ^^

Are you on your way to the intermediate level right now? Or are you planning to live abroad or are you already living abroad?

Based on 20 years of overseas experience from the UK, Malaysia, and Montreal, Canada, I'm starting a practical English class inspired by that country's culture right now!

Tim Tutor

Real English for living abroad — tone, manners, and even nuances

Real English for living abroad — tone, manners, and even nuances