Summary and Reflection : Miscommunication
Miscommunication is a fact of life in today’s global society. Sometimes the results are humorous and sometimes they are serious.
"How do you say" is a story about an English teacher who experienced miscommunication in Japan. The writer had studied Japanese before he arrived in Japan. One day, the writer wanted to make some bread. He went to the store then looked all over the store for the flour. He couldn’t find any flour. The writer wanted to ask the clerk where the flour was, but he didn’t know the word for flour. Suddenly, he saw one of his students just leaving the store. He rushed outside and asked the student for a Japanese translation of flour. Then, the writer turned back to the store and spoke to a clerk. The clerk pointed to the flowers and took the writer to the produce section. At that moment, he realized that the student hadn’t understood the question correctly. He didn’t specify whether he had meant flour or flower. Finally, he went home without the flour.
Personally, I have experienced miscommunication many times sine I moved to New York. Let me share one example. English was a strange language for me before I had moved to New York. One day in the first week I moved to New York, my sister took me to a house party. I was so excited because all of the people in the party were foreigners who spoke English. After lunch, we went to the house pool. At the pool, a spider bit my arm while I was swimming. One of friends was concerned about me and asked me if I was hurt. I shook my head because I already knew the word “hurt”. Then he asked me if I could breathe. It was a stupid question, but I didn’t know the meaning of breathe, so I continued to shake my head. By that time, my sister was in front of me. She explained what the word he just said was. I blushed suddenly and felt awkward.
As we can see, miscommunication is common these days. This is why I am working hard to improve my English ability.