#2. Not knowing a word is not the end of communication

In fact, it’s the beginning! Figuring out a way to communicate regardless is a great opportunity to practise more language and grow confident.

To illustrate such an idea, I tell my students the story of the mop. As a post-graduate student settling in my shared accommodation, I needed cleaning supplies.

I went to the supermarket and realised I had no idea what a mop was in English. I was studying Shakespeare at Glasgow University, but none of it was of any use in the supermarket!

Option 1 was to go home, feeling defeated, and having dirty floors the whole year.

Option 2 was to figure out a way to ask for a mop.

Unsurprisingly, I chose option 2 and asked for ‘a piece of cloth you dip in a bucket of water in order to wash the floor’. ‘Ah! a mop,’ replied the shopkeeper, before heading to the stockroom to fetch me one.

I used 17 words instead of 1, I learned the word ‘mop’ in context – and will never forget it – and my kitchen and bathroom floors were clean all year long.

Not knowing a word is not the end of communication, it’s the beginning. And a great one at that.

​French for business

Formation anglais des affaires

Don't hesitate to send me your questions about language learning!

#1. Is it too late to learn a language? #3. Is learning vocabulary lists a good idea?

#4. Should I use bilingual books?

#5. Practising all four skills equally #6. On the importance of making mistakes

#7. You know more than you think you do