When you can't find the word
Things to do when you don't know or can't remember a word
Hello everyone,
Has this ever happened to you? You’re having a conversation in English and suddenly you realise that you don’t know a word that you need. Or perhaps you do know it really but you just can’t remember it at that moment. You freeze and don’t know what to do or say next. Then either there’s a long, awkward silence or you just change the subject because you can’t finish saying what you want to say.
So what do you do?
First, don’t panic! You need to know that this is completely normal and it happens to everyone.
So be kind to yourself. Many learners get angry with themselves or feel frustrated when they get stuck. But remember, if you can have any kind of conversation in English, even if it’s not perfect, you’re doing really well!
The second thing to remember is that native speakers have the same problem. Do you sometimes get stuck for a word when you’re speaking your first language? I bet you do! I know I do, especially when I’m tired! If native speakers have the same problem, then you don’t feel so bad when it happens to you in English, right?
So what do native speakers do when this happens? We usually communicate another way, like using body language, or we find another way to say the same thing. Think about what you do when you get stuck in your first language and try to do the same when you’re speaking English.
Third, here are a few useful words and phrases you can use when you get stuck:
What do you call this in English?
It’s a thing which / It’s something which …
It’s a person who / It’s somebody who…
It’s a place where/which…
Can I borrow your thingy/thingamajig?
Pass me that whatsit/what-do-you-call-it over there, will you?
What’s this doohickey for?
I need to buy some of that stuff to wash my hair.
It’s like …
It’s similar to …
not … / the opposite of ...
It’s a kind of …
It’s for …
For example …
Here are a few examples:
It’s a person who tests your eyes. (optician)
It’s like yellow but for hair. (blonde)
Not deep. (shallow)
It’s a kind of doctor (surgeon)
If you’d like to read a full lesson on this topic with more phrases, more examples and more strategies, check out my latest blog post here:
This is one example of the kind of thing I teach in my new programme for professional women, “She Speaks English”. If you’d like more information about my programme, reply to this email and I’ll send it to you.
See you next week!
Katie
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