Dear Dr. George:

I come from another country, and my spoken and written English is poor. People have a hard time understanding me. I am afraid I will flunk my college courses because I am unable to effectively communicate, both in speaking and writing.

Signed,

FOREIGN BORN

Dear FOREIGN BORN:

I would suggest that the first thing you do is check out all the resources Hofstra offers to help students improve their language skills. “Teaching English as a Second Language” is a good start. If you are working part-time, perhaps your employer would pay for some or all of this course, when you enroll. A writing lab would be a significant help to you. Moreover, find a counselor or a freshman composition teacher to advise you on the other resources at Hofstra which would improve your English language skills. When I taught freshman composition as an adjunct at Hofstra, I was amazed at the resources available to help foreign students.

Another step you could take is to get someone in the writing lab to review your written assignments and revise them to adhere to proper English. This should not be a crutch, as you need to listen carefully to the tutor as to what mistakes you seem to be making and try not to repeat them.

Keep a written log and write down your most common mistakes, with their corrections. Enter into this log every mistake you find and its correction. Memorize the correct English version, and write it and speak it repeatedly for at least 30 times. I have found that many foreign students generally make the same mistakes that can be categorized into “most common mistakes.” So learn the common mistakes you commit and endeavor to get them right in speaking and writing. Then move on to your less common mistakes and improve them.

Buy a book that teaches basics about English, not the entire language. It will probably come with a CD. Play it on the way to work every day and before you go to bed at night.

Finally, speak English at home or with your family and foreign friends. Ask them to talk to you in English as opposed to your native language. This would be a win-win, as your family and friends will be learning English when they are helping you.

Don’t worry about having an accent when you speak English; you may never lose it. However, even with an accent, people will be able to understand you better once you take the suggestions I gave you to improve your English. If you live in New York City, many people speak with accents. Me, personally, I speak in Southern.

Good luck. I commend you for coming to America, a great land of opportunity. Since America has invited you to the USA, return the favor by learning its language as best as you can.

Dr. George Abraham is a business consultant author of “The Seven Deadly Work Sins Against the Golden Rule. He also formally served as an adjunct professor at Hofstra. Email confidential questions for advice to [email protected].