How to deal with situations when you don't understand what someone is saying

Описание: Hi, I’m Blaine Roberts from English Online. Listening to native speakers can sometimes be hard especially for English language learners. Sometimes they use words we are not familiar with or they can speak too fast. But don’t worry when you can’t understand sometimes. It’s not always your fault. Sometimes, people are in a hurry, or there is noise around you which makes it hard to hear them well. Here are some tips on how to deal with this situation:

1. Never say “huh?”– I’ve been tempted to say this many times when I don’t understand what people are saying. But don’t say it! It’s is rude. Instead, you can say, “Sorry, I didn’t understand” or “Sorry, can you please repeat?”
2. Focus on the context – This means looking for clues to know the meaning. You can do this by paying more attention to words that are said louder or longer.
3. Guess or verify– Sometimes you can be shy and don’t want to ask them to repeat what they said. You can instead guess by saying “Did you mean____?” or “Did you say ______?” In that way, the other person can say yes, and verify what they mean or no and repeat or explain what they said.

Try these tips the next time to help you get the message. And relax, later on, you’ll get more used to how people talk. See you next time!

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