Hello, Advanced English learners. Welcome back. In our community, recently we talked about the importance of learning the language of a country that you plan to live in to better soak up the culture and history and to unlock a dormant part of your identity you never even knew was there. It was a riveting discussion, and if you would like to take part in those, I would encourage you to join our Community Explearning Academy and you can sign up at academy.explearning.co. We would love to have you. 

Today I am sharing some strategies you can use to ask native English speakers for feedback on your language use and communication. Let's get into it.

Asking native English speakers for feedback on your language and communication skills, is a great way to improve your fluency and gain insight into cultural norms and expectations. However, it can be daunting to approach someone and ask for help. It's important to remember that most people are happy to help and offer feedback, but it is crucial to ask for it in a polite and respectful manner. 

In this lesson, we will discuss strategies for how to ask for feedback in a way that is likely to result in a positive response. 

Ready for the strategies? 

Plan ahead. Before speaking with a native speaker, it's important to think about what specific areas you want to work. This will help you focus your conversation and make the most of the feedback you receive. For example, if you are struggling with pronunciation, you could ask the person to listen to you, say a few words or phrases, and provide feedback on your pronunciation. If you're having trouble with grammar, you could ask the person to look over a written passage and provide feedback on your grammar. You could say, "I'm trying to improve my pronunciation. Could you please listen to me say this word or phrase and give me some feedback on my accent? Or "I'm trying to improve my grammar. Could you just have a glance at this email and gimme some feedback on what I need to improve?" 

Be polite and respectful. When asking for feedback, it's important to be polite and respectful to the other person's time and expertise. You can start by thanking them for their help and explaining why you're asking for feedback in the first place. For example, you could say something like, "I'm trying to improve my English, and I would really appreciate it if you could give me some feedback on my speaking." You could say, "I really appreciate your help. I'm trying to improve my English, and I would really, really appreciate if you could give me some feedback on my speaking and my conversation." You could say that you're working on your social skills and you would like some feedback there. But be as specific as possible. And that brings me to my next point. 

Be specific. Instead of asking for just general feedback, try to be as specific as you can about what you want to work on. That will allow them to focus in on that specific concept. For example, you could ask the person to listen to a short sentence or paragraph and provide feedback on your pronunciation or to look over a written passage or an email and to provide feedback on your grammar. This will help the person understand what you are looking for and asking of them, and then that would allow them to provide more targeted and focused feedback. So for this, you could say, "I'm having trouble with verb tenses. Could you please give me some feedback on the grammar in this written passage I prepared or in this email to so-and-so?

 Be open to feedback. This is a really important one because asking for feedback is one thing, but being able to receive it and be receptive to that feedback is a totally different thing. So receiving feedback can be challenging, especially if it's not what you are expecting. If you are just fishing for a compliment and expecting somebody to say, "your grammar is great," or "your pronunciation is perfect", right? If you were fishing for a compliment and didn't get it and instead got some constructive criticism that was a little bit harsh even, then you might be in for a big surprise. So it's really important that you are aware of this, especially if it wasn't what you were expecting. So that's why I really encourage you to be open and receptive to your feedback that you receive, even if it's difficult to hear at times, because you know what? It's not easy to receive feedback but we have to be able to know how to be able to do that. And we need to work on that as well, because feedback is a very real part of professional and personal development.

This will help you to learn and improve more effectively. So take in that feedback as constructively as you can and make use of it. Use it to make improvements in your language skills and your communication and your social skills. Try to remember that feedback is an opportunity to grow and improve and get better.

So try to view it in that positive light. And so for this, you could say "thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate your time and help. I'll try to work on that and improve my skills. I appreciate it." So I'd like you to note that these are examples that you can use as a starting point, as a launch point, and then you can adjust them to your own specific situation, your own context, and adapt them to fit your own needs. But I wanted to provide you a little bit of a blueprint that you can use as a jumping off point. 

Are you ready to put this into practice? I have a quest for you as well as some challenges you can do when practicing these concepts and strategies. You'll be able to access those resources when you join our private community Explearning Academy. So if you would like the quests, the challenges, the discussion that goes along with it, and an opportunity to submit a question or ask me live in real time, then you can sign up for our community by going to academy.explearning.co, or by using the link down below.

In conclusion, asking native English speakers for feedback on your language and communication skills can be a valuable and effective way to improve your fluency. To make the most of this experience, it's very important to plan ahead, be polite and respectful of their time, energy and expertise. Be specific about what you want feedback on and also be open and receptive to feedback.

Remember to thank the person for their time and expertise. Be clear about what you want to work on and try to take the feedback constructively. 

By following these strategies, you'll be able to build positive rapport, establish a positive relationship with native English speakers, and use their feedback to improve your language and communication skills.

All right, Advanced English learners. Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate your time. Please be sure to show the podcast and the YouTube channel some love by sharing it, commenting, engaging, and make sure that you let people know that we're here, and I really look forward to seeing you in the next one where we're gonna continue advancing your English together.

Until then, keep up with the awesome work and I will see you very, very soon. Bye for now.

About the Author and the Explearning Academy:

Mary Daphne is an expert in communication, executive skills and professional development. She is the founder of the Explearning Academy, a platform dedicated to helping individuals enhance their social fluency, boost their careers, and elevate their social game. Through immersive group coaching programs like the Executive Communication Lab and self-guided journeys, participants gain the social superpowers and career catapults they've been searching for. If you're ready to take your negotiation skills to the next level and connect with like-minded individuals, visit academy.explearning.co and explore the various plans available. Join the Explearning Academy community and unlock your full potential.

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