Speaking: embarrassing moments
I remember first time I wanted to speak in English. My refrigerator does not work properly so I had to get someone to fix it. I went to apartment manager office and explained that I called them two days ago. But, instead of saying “two days ago”, I said “two years ago”. The clerk was shocked and surprisingly asked me: “two years ago?” I was so embarrassed and laughed at myself a lot at the same time because it was really funny too.
The next time that I made mistakes was on the phone talking to TOEFL exam center. I wanted to register for the test. ETS clerk asked me some questions about the name, address, time and date of the exam and finally asked me about a phone number. I gave her my land home number but she asked me something which I could not understand. I asked her again to repeat her question but nothing was changed. I could not still understand what she said. After a couple of repetitions, I guessed maybe she wanted another phone number and I gave her another phone number. That worked. Finally I was right.
I am still making mistakes while talking. Sometimes I do not even know what native speakers are talking about but I do not show them that I can not understand what they are talking about. I think it is not polite. Consequently, I keep my face like a person who knows English very well and understands everything. I would rather be calm in these kinds of situations and try to listen to them very carefully. I know I am not the only person making mistakes, all people who like to learn another language make mistakes. I think these mistakes are really funny and I at least have something to tell about to my friends. So, what do you think about these embarrassing moments? Did you have any? How were them? What feelings do you have about them? Are you angry, embarrassed, happy while speaking incorrectly? What are people’s reaction toward this moment?