Appendix: Acceptable Native Chaos – When “Wrong” is Actually Fluent

Some pronunciations sound “wrong” to learners—and even to teachers.

Examples:

• “red” pronounced as “ued”
• “did you” → “didja”
• “I don’t know” → “I dunno”

These aren’t mistakes. They’re not careless. They’re what native speakers actually say when speaking fluently, quickly, and rhythmically.

Acknowledge and Empower

When students ask, “Isn’t that wrong?” You can say:

“Yes—it’s wrong on the test.
But it’s right in conversation.”

Textbooks teach structure. Fluency teaches rhythm.

As educators, we can show both.

Let’s empower learners to recognize that native-level ‘errors’ are part of real speech.

—Symeon