I have just returned from a Summer Exchange Program in Seoul, Korea and realized the importance of communicating effectively especially when speaking to foreigners. As the Summer Exchange Program consist of people from various parts of the World, it is even more important to speak clearly as there exist vast cultural differences. From my personal experience, some foreigners were not able to understand what I was saying, and I have to repeat my point several times. I think the reasons could be that either I was speaking too fast, did not speak in proper English or did not articulate every single word properly this conclusion which I arrived to was actually agreed by a few other Singaporeans.
In addition, growing up in Singapore for 20 odd years, the culture and the language usage which I was exposed to is different from the foreigners. Cultural difference, hence, could be another factor which affected the interaction between the foreigners and I. I tend to use "Singlish" when speaking with my family and friends, and it could that I am so used to it that I could not adjust and deliver my point across properly to foreigners, but to Singaporeans, it was fine.
Furthermore, some might say that it is the accent which hinders the interaction. However, I, personally, do not think so. In fact, I feel that is it the cultural differences in the usage of the language and one's proficiency of the language that might actually affect the communication process. For instance, in Singapore, where most Singaporeans speak to one another casually in "Singlish", it does not really matter as we are able to understand one another, but if Singaporeans were to speak to foreigners in "Singlish", the idea may not be brought across, and the usage of "Singlish" might even cause some misinterpretation of the actual meaning. Hence, understanding the environment that you are in and the cultural differences, in terms of language use, of other countries is actually very important if you wish to ensure that the other party fully understood you.
In fact, in today's context where Singapore is constantly welcoming foreign companies and talents, effective communication becomes even more important as we have to ensure that the foreigners understood our ideas.
Therefore, I believe that depending on the environment, audience's culture and their language proficiency, the speaker should determine and choose the appropriate communication style to use.
