LauRen and Her Aupair Stuggle With This…And You Probably Do Too
Grammar is a lowkey hot button issue. There’s a reason why we call people who take it upon themselves to correct other’s online grammar pushers!
So the question is: Is it ever okay to correct another person’s grammar? If you’re an English teacher getting paid to do it, or a parent homeschooling your kids, the answer is yes. But outside of those examples, the answer is ‘no’ probably 99% of the time.
However since I am none of those things… I struggle with this a ton with our Au pair Elena. She has asked me repeatedly to correct her English when said says something wrong. I try to do it where I feel like she needs it the most but quite honestly I think she speaks better English than some Americans so I feel bad doing it. Oh and BTW I’m not perfect either!
When you stop a conversation to correct someone’s grammar, all you’re really doing is showing you’d rather embarrass them than listen to the gist of what they’re saying. Ask yourself when the last time you did it to genuinely help someone become a better speaker or writer. Otherwise I think you should just shut your trap.
Once you’ve accepted that, you should start training yourself to start letting it go and retire from your self-imposed unpaid tutor side gig of a literary teacher.