Isn’t that what many learners do? Literally study and memorize the dictionary from cover to cover? And how many learners study every grammar rule in the textbook? Some learners seriously know about the structure of the language more than many teachers. I have also met so many of them who are extremely fluent, and seriously quick, but I’ll be damned if I can make out what they’re trying to say. A good example is Indians learners (no offense, and hey, some Indians are awesome speakers). Some of them can fire out up to 150-180 wpm (the average speech speed of a native speaker in a normal conversation is 120-150 wpm), but unfortunately 40%-50% of it is often incomprehensible.
Over a decade ago, back in Australia, I was working at a call center with a couple of Indian colleagues, who often complained that they had been working for the company for many years without getting promoted or being given the opportunity to move up the corporate ladder. I liked them personally as they were great people and really fun to have around, but every time they started to bitch and whine about that issue, I was kind of irritated. I honestly got sick and tired of hearing that same old song “it’s because of my color ain’t it?” I got so close to saying something several times but then bit my tongue and let it slide. What I really wanted to say to them and I wish I did but I didn’t was “No dude it ain’t your color and it ain’t got nothing to do with your race, it’s your communication skills and precisely your accent”. I really hate that about some migrants, and it’s not only Indians, they can be from anywhere, they are always so quick to play the race card and I resent that, I truly do.
Look, I’m not denying that there IS some racism in Australia but not any more than in India or anywhere else. You immigrate to Australia wanting to start a new life, well the least thing you can do is spend some effort to speak the language decently. Yes sure you might have got a high score on the IELTS test, but what have you done to sound clear and presentable in English. The corporate environment is very different from the academic environment, and you are not really being assessed as a learner or second language learner, and to tell you the truth, no one gives a flying f**** about how good or bad your IELTS score was, all they want is results. If you want that promotion, you’ve got to be a top-notch communicator, and let’s face it, how we say things is part of the equation isn’t it?
How many of guys agree/disagree with me on that?
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