내 나라말이 아닌데 실수하는게 당연한거 아닌가

Errors? It is not your mother tongue!

English has become a global language.

For many people, English is not a mother tongue but a second or even third language.

Even in countries where English isn't the primary language, you will definitely encounter people who speak it. Why is that?

It's not just because America has been one of the leading countries in the world for several decades, but also because English-language content is everywhere, allowing us constant exposure. Additionally, English is not as difficult to learn compared to other languages.

Reflecting on my experience of learning Dutch, French, and Italian, I find that English grammar is simpler in comparison to those languages.

However, the real challenge isn't the grammar itself—most Korean people are quite strong in English grammar.

If you visit one of those touristic African countries where people speak Swahili or French, you'll find that the street vendors, tour guides can speak fluent English. Did they all take serious grammar courses? I don't think so.

The key is that they need English to make a living. They're desperate, which means making errors doesn't matter to them. They know their English isn't perfect, but they think, "It's not my mother tongue, and I make mistakes. So what? It's your job to understand my not-perfect English, not mine to be perfect!"

Just imagine if you're immigrating, studying, or working in the States. English still isn't your first language, and it's normal to make errors. Accept that. If you look around, many Americans don't speak any other languages, but you speak two, including Korean. Isn't that amazing?

There's no need to feel frustrated if your English isn't as fluent as theirs. If they were to immigrate to Korea, they wouldn't speak perfect Korean either. You don't believe me? Have you ever watched 비정상회담 (Abnormal Summit)? The panelists have lived in Korea for quite a while. Some of them are very fluent, but you can still hear they're not native Koreans.

That level of proficiency is where we, as non-native speakers, will eventually reach—not perfect, but fluent. For example, Tyler, an American panelist, speaks excellent Korean, and Alberto, an Italian panelist, speaks very fluent Korean. But when you hear them, you can still tell they're not native speakers, right?

Now, think about how Koreans perceive non-native speakers. We appreciate the effort people make to learn Korean. They’re accepted as part of our society, and we feel much less of a barrier because they speak Korean. In any case, our feelings toward these panelists are very positive.

Just believe that your errors don't erase their gratitude or positive feelings toward your effort. If someone laughs at your accent or errors, it’s their problem—not yours. It reflects their lack of social empathy, not your language skills.

It's not your mother tongue. Making errors is normal.