Sustainable English and the Communication-friendly Environment
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
Featured post by Terry Kaufman from YourEnglishSuccess!
One day I went to HSBC to interview my customers and their non-native English speaking colleagues. I wanted to understand their communication case better and get greater insight into Anglophone and non-Anglophone interactions.
During one interview, I was amazed at how eloquently one individual, Mr. Boyer, clearly expressed the essence of Sustainable English:
“An environment is friendly when everyone understands the stakes, objectives, and viewpoints of others.”
As I was preparing my program and notes, I had originally defined it as:
An environment that is friendly towards non-native speakers – it consists of clear English, collaboration, and focus on mutual understanding.
Mr. Boyer expressed exactly what the communication-friendly environment has to offer, when it is implemented and fully operational.
Every native English speaker has the potential and ability to create his/her own personalized environment to accommodate non-native speakers.
Less frustration. More success.
