The immigrant’s journey can be as exciting as it is challenging. While moving to a new country creates unique opportunities for growth and self-discovery, the experience can also feel isolating, and finding a sense of belonging takes time and effort. Among the many hurdles immigrants face, communication stands out as a major challenge.

Having spent over seven years in the US, two in the UK, and doing shorter stints in Australia and South Korea, I’ve experienced firsthand how moving abroad can disrupt one’s ability to connect with others. This essay explores the unique communication struggles immigrants face, discusses the importance of strong communication skills, and offers five practical strategies for improvement. I share my own experiences, along with insights from fellow adventurers — friends whose inspiring stories reflect resilience, determination, and optimism — hoping it can be helpful for new immigrants, particularly junior and mid-career professionals aspiring to leadership roles. While the focus is on immigrants in the US, many of these lessons apply to learning any language.

Why Communication Feels Harder After the Move

Moving to a new country can disrupt your ability to express yourself effectively and to be understood overnight. Maybe you were the funny one back home, the person who could light up a room with your quick wit. Now, your jokes fall flat, lost in translation. Or perhaps you loved loud bars, where conversations hummed with energy. Now, you can barely catch what people are saying over the noise. And let’s not forget those confused looks you get sometimes, the ones that make you way too self-conscious! In a way, it can feel like a loss of identity, of the ease and comfort you once felt when connecting with others.

So, what makes it challenging, even for people who were A+ English language students comfortable speaking the language during their vacations? My top three reasons are below.

1. Classroom vs. Reality

   Classroom setting or academic proficiency doesn't translate into practical fluency. Grammar can often be mastered in a classroom; however, true communication goes far beyond grammar. Understanding the subtle connotations of words and using them in the right context is a crucial element of fluency. For example, words like ‘nice’, ‘cute’, ‘lovely’, and ‘good’ may appear as synonyms in a school textbook, but their nuanced usage differs greatly. Misusing them can leave others confused. Pronunciation and intonation differences are rarely covered in class but can significantly hinder understanding too.

2. Cultural Differences

   I have taken a few English courses over my life and yet I have never been explicitly taught about cultural norms. However, they shape communication styles profoundly. Every country has its own unwritten rules about how to express disagreement, when and how to show politeness, or how to express your opinion. These subtleties shape how people perceive you and, in a professional setting, can diminish the effectiveness of a leadership style that may have worked well in your home country. It’s important to note, however, that cultures are not uniform; there is immense diversity within any given culture. Being mindful of these nuances is key to navigating communication successfully.

3. Increased Cognitive Load

   When you learn how to drive, it initially takes considerable focus and effort to navigate even a quiet block and you can still occasionally forget to use the turn signal. Speaking a second language, in particular when building up to fluency, often feels the same way. It is uncomfortable and tiring. You might even find yourself running out of words or making simple mistakes. This exhaustion can make you want to avoid social interactions and default to sticking to your home-country community, where you can comfortably use your native language, but that is the opposite of what is needed to progress.

Simply acknowledging and being aware of these factors impacting communication is a huge step forward.

Why Communication Skills Matter

Here are my three reasons why to invest in communication skills.

1. Strong communication skills are key to building new relationships, establishing friendships, growing your network professionally, and participating in community events in your new home country.
2. They are also essential for career success. Clear articulation, active listening, and cultural sensitivity are critical for being persuasive, building credibility, and being perceived as a competent professional. Any leadership role requires mastery of these skills and, therefore, a massive investment in their development.
3. Personally, I have found it incredibly fun and rewarding to discover new cultures - their humor, values, stories, beliefs, and traditions. Embracing a new culture doesn’t mean abandoning our own heritage; rather, it allows us to enrich our experiences.

Strategies to Enhance Communication

Below I list five tools that can help take your fluency and comfort to the next level, no matter what your starting point is.

1. Adopt the Right Mindset

I am a big believer that everything starts with the right mindset. It is the foundation and every tool and tactic comes on top of that foundation. Embrace a learner’s mindset or, as Robert Greene puts it in Mastery, adopt Darwin’s approach: observe without judgment, be patient, make mistakes, and let go of expectations. This both helps you progress faster and also makes it a more fun journey. Children learn languages quickly not just because their brains are adaptable, but also because they approach learning with curiosity and persistence. They aren’t burdened with expectations like, “At this age, I should already know this!” or “It’s too late for me to learn.” They just go for it. This is one area of life where letting go of perfectionism will benefit you immensely.