<p>If you are a native English speaker, do you have any advice for someone whose first language is not English and is making a transition at an American high school? </p>
<p>If you are not a native English speaker, like me, what are some of your obstacles in you everyday life?</p>
<p>kempner, when did you start learning English?
Elementary school? If that is so, I don’t see how there could be any obstacle for you.</p>
<p>Best advice- Don’t mind those who mock/make fun of your English skills, you’re bilingual, they’re most likely not.</p>
<p>I grew up speaking Russian, learned English through school…</p>
<p>Just try to communicate properly.</p>
<p>We have a bunch of foreign exchange kids at my school (if you wanna call them that… They come here during the school year and live with a different host family each semester or year… but they stay for 2-4 years and go home during the summer. XD)</p>
<p>Anyways… My biggest problem is when the internationals try to use big words and try to hold “an intelligent” conversation. It’s so much easier if you just use simple words that you KNOW and just go from there. If you don’t know what a word means, then don’t be afraid to ask a neighbor. I remember one of the internationals asked me what the word “strike” meant (Like to strike a ball) in my physics class. We didn’t laugh at him. Instead we tried to give him a usable definition so that he could answer the questions on his test.</p>
<p>I love international kids though. <3 I think it’s so cool when they start talking in their language…</p>