Feeling discourage for my broken English

Chaotic94 · Jul 13, 2012

My dog, who is like my baby, has an Indian vet. She has an accent, but she is the best vet I've ever met. I take my dog to a clinic that has a couple of vets, most of them American, but I always make my appointments with the same vet. Her ethnicity means nothing to me. She's a great vet, she's wonderful with my dog, she's intelligent, and I am confident in her skills. I would prefer my dog be seen by a good doctor with an accent, than a doctor that speaks perfect English but isn't as compassionate or experienced. I realize that not everyone will see it this way, especially when they're trusting you with their child/parent/loved one, but I think all anyone wants is excellent care. As long as you're providing that, I don't think you should worry. Plus, your English will probably improve as you speak it more! Just don't be embarassed to use it since that's the best way to improve it. You didn't mention whether you can understand English well. I'm Hispanic, but my Spanish is horrible. I get embarassed to speak it and it just sucks, lol, but I understand it perfectly and am working on improving my speaking. Obviously it will be important for you to understand English well enough to survive nursing school and clinicals. As long as you understand it, I think it will be ok!

Carmen808 · Jul 13, 2012

I appreciate your kind words Chaotic94 and you are wright I didn't mentioned that I understand a lot ,although sometimes; I have to read twice what I'm reading in order to understand . I'm a Hispanic by the way.Thank you for your time

Bobmo88 · Jul 13, 2012

I think that as long as you understand English more than you speak then you will be fine. English was my first language but I'm Latino/Hispanic/Mexican-American/whatever you want to call it and I didn't really learn Spanish until high school. I even earned my first Bachelor's in Spanish so I understand it and speak really well but there are times when I get tongue tied, mispronounce things and make mistakes. Luckily for you, a lot of medical terminology in Spanish is similar if not the same as English since it is derived from Greek and Latin words. ¡Buena suerte!

Jennie.K · Jul 13, 2012

I agree with what the above posters said. Also, if you want to improve your English, try going out and speaking it more. I am more shy when I know I will see people again. Try going to a farmers market and talk to people selling the food about the food they are selling. The more you use the language, the more confident you will feel when speaking it.

Good luck to you!! Also, you could always move to an area where Spanish is more common than English. We recently moved to TX (fort hood) and I have been told there are a ton of areas down here where you can barely function without knowing Spanish.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 13, 2012

I disagree with some of the above posts. While you may become a fantastic nurse, you may have trouble being hired as a nurse if you don't communicate well verbally. You will have to participate in a job interview -- and be prepared to "beat" the other applicants for the job. Being able to speak well is an important skill in a profession which involves communicating regularly with people who may be hard of hearing, under a lot stress, etc. In an emergency, co-workers don't want to have to stop and ask you to repeat something. Patients who are groggy, hard of hearing, stressed, etc. should not be expected to "work harder" to figure out what you are trying to say.

It may not be politically correct to say it, but potential employers will doubt your suitability for a job in which verbal communication is important unless you can speak English well enough so that other people don't have to work harder to understand you.

Fortunately, you have time to work on your English speaking ability before you start applying for nursing jobs. I suggest you seek some help, take a class, join a discussion group, etc. Perhaps your school can help your find such a class. In not, perhaps a local community college might offer something. Look into it. It may make the difference in whether or not you can get a good job after graduation or not.

Good luck to you! I truly wish you the best of luck in school and hope you have a long, satisfying nursing career.

loriangel14, RN · Jul 13, 2012

I hope that in time and with practice you will gain the confidence you need.Your written English is pretty good.The more you interact with others the easier it will get.Do not give up.

britney705 · Jul 13, 2012

Of course don't give up your dreams!! Everyone will have some type of obstacle to pass through before becoming a nurse. You will have plenty time to work on your obstacles before you start your career. I'm a pre-nursing student working on pre-requisites as well. Though I won't have a problem with any language barriers there are a ton of other obstacles that I've learned that I will have to pass through before I fully become a nurse oneday. We all will have them. It's just good that we recognize them early so that we can pay special attention to those things that may hold us back and work on them every chance we get. Don't let it hold you back you have plenty of time left to work on those things to make you the best nurse you can be!!! Good luck!! :nurse:

itsmejuli · Jul 13, 2012

Please stop being shy about your english speaking skills. You need to make yourself communicate in english, this is the only way you will improve.

I'm sure you have friends who also need to improve their english speaking skills too. You can help each other by speaking english between you. Try doing this to increase your english speaking confidence. When you go to a store, ask questions in english, make yourself do it. You will really have to force yourself to do this.

Also see if you can find an english as second language class at a college. You will need to build your english reading and writing skills for school and the NCLEX.

I'm an LPN, the aids who work with me are immigrants from all over the world. They all had to learn english and to communicate well with their clients. If they can do it, so can you :)

umbdude, MSN, APRN · Jul 13, 2012

Don't get discouraged!!

You might benefit from working with a speech-language pathologist. Your English writing seems fine, which means you'll be fine in terms of grammar and communications. But the ability to pick up an accent is something that's more innate and physiological, and some people might not be able to discriminate and replicate tones and pitches well enough to pronounce words correctly. A speech language pathologist or someone who specializes in this area can help you develop the right strategy so you can improve your speaking faster.

sharpeimom · Jul 13, 2012

if there's a ywca near you, please ask if they have an informal conversational group for woman whose

first language is not english. many yws have these groups. get yourself out and speak english. some

public libraries have conversational groups too.

good luck!

on eagles wings, ASN, RN · Jul 14, 2012

I know plenty of nurses whose English is terrible but they are awesome at what they do!! Spanish is my first tongue and its true, you just have to practice. The accent goes away with time, but you need to speak as much as you can. Don't give up just for that. It's not that big of a deal if you keep trying to improve yourself. :) It is just another obstacle you are going to have victory over.