Buyers English Level

[potentate2016]

I was wondering if it is common that Sellers list English as a their native language but can’t speak English? I have found some Sellers when looking for editing services and when I start chatting with then it seems their English is not that good at all. I don’t like to call people out as maybe they have someone else working with them that has much better English. I don’t like to make people feel uncomfortable. any ideas, have you had any experience with this issue?

[pritiskon]

First of all, it is not advisable to brand yourself as native English while you are not one. Secondly, people pretend to be native English to earn jobs which shows their dire need for the job. Nobody knows which condition they are surviving.
Hope I am able to shed some light on your experience.

[gledyschavez]

HI potentate2016, I agreee with youm we as a seller, we have to be honest, if we are not native English speaker but we can speak in a good level, we have to write it down but not that we are native when we aren’t.

But I am pretty sure that you will find excellent English sellers

[potentate2016]

First of all, it is not advisable to brand yourself as native English while you are not one. Secondly, people pretend to be native English to earn jobs which shows their dire need for the job. Nobody knows which condition they are surviving.

Hope I am able to shed some light on your experience.

Yes, your right. That’s why I don’t like to judge. At the same time, it is important to know the truth if possible.

[potentate2016]

HI potentate2016, I agreee with youm we as a seller, we have to be honest, if we are not native English speaker but we can speak in a good level, we have to write it down but not that we are native when we aren’t.

But I am pretty sure that you will find excellent English sellers

That’s good I have my first big edit going on now, my fingers are crossed.

[gledyschavez]

That’s good I have my first big edit going on now, my fingers are crossed.

I wish you the best, I wish you that some buyer can see you and you can star soon

[english_voice]

This is just a reality of life. Sellers know that English ‘sells’. My advice would be to look for sellers who’ve got decent feedback - and if you want to be extra confident, only use those who have passed the Fiverr English skills test. I’ve taken it, and believe me it’s not easy - and I’m a native proofreader and writer with 25 years’ experience!

I agree though, sadly language can be a barrier to clear communication even on simple jobs. As a seller, there have been times when I’ve struggled to clearly understand a client’s instructions or text - and all the time the clock is ticking.

[theenglishninja]

I think this is a slight error on Fiverr’s part. When you list your languages, they give you the option of Native/Bilingual. For me, these are two VERY different terms and should be separated. But then again, everyone’s perception between ‘basic’, ‘conversational’, ‘fluent’, ‘bilingual/native’ is going to be different.

I also offer editing & proofreading services here on Fiverr, and I do market myself as a native speaker (American). My tactic was to upload a video for one of my gigs so people could actually see my talk and hear my accent.

Don’t get me wrong - there are many non-native speakers out there who are highly qualified to do this type of work, but it kills me to see folks claiming they can do it only to find their gig description littered with grammar mistakes!

If you like someone but aren’t sure about their skills, why don’t you ask them to do a sample job? This is something I often do with clients who have big projects, since I want to make sure I am a good match for them AND they are a good match for me. If you have any doubts about the freelancer and their skills…just move on!

Hope this helps!

Alex

[english_voice]

I think this is a slight error on Fiverr’s part. When you list your languages, they give you the option of Native/Bilingual. For me, these are two VERY different terms and should be separated. But then again, everyone’s perception between ‘basic’, ‘conversational’, ‘fluent’, ‘bilingual/native’ is going to be different.

I also offer editing & proofreading services here on Fiverr, and I do market myself as a native speaker (American). My tactic was to upload a video for one of my gigs so people could actually see my talk and hear my accent.

Don’t get me wrong - there are many non-native speakers out there who are highly qualified to do this type of work, but it kills me to see folks claiming they can do it only to find their gig description littered with grammar mistakes!

If you like someone but aren’t sure about their skills, why don’t you ask them to do a sample job? This is something I often do with clients who have big projects, since I want to make sure I am a good match for them AND they are a good match for me. If you have any doubts about the freelancer and their skills…just move on!

Hope this helps!

Alex

I agree there is a big difference between a native and a bilingual speaker / writer.

Perhaps for many jobs on Fiverr it doesn’t matter too much, but in my line of work, which is proofreading, it does make a huge difference.

For example, a large European magazine publisher uses me to proofread their articles which are written by very talented and highly skilled bilingual writers. However, there are always words or phrases that aren’t quite right. They make sense, and it wouldn’t be embarrassing if they made it to print - but they’re not the words of a native speaker / writer. For this particular client this is exceptionally important.

Also, while I wish all the genuine sellers on Fiverr the very best success, it nonetheless makes me sad when I see people offering English proofreading services, when their own gig description is littered with errors! They are clearly not a native or fluent bilingual communicator - and yet people still hire them!

[eoinfinnegan]

From interacting with people on the forum, I think a lot of the issue is that some don’t understand just how bad their English actually is.

[maddisont]

I think that’s why it’s important to hold a conversation with sellers before actually ordering anything. At least when it’s important that they’re native English speakers. You can tell pretty quick how fluent someone is in the language.

But I still have buyers who order my gigs without ever speaking to me, so I guess it’s not super important to everyone 😅

[potentate2016]

I think that’s why it’s important to hold a conversation with sellers before actually ordering anything. At least when it’s important that they’re native English speakers. You can tell pretty quick how fluent someone is in the language.

But I still have buyers who order my gigs without ever speaking to me, so I guess it’s not super important to everyone 😅

I never even thought of that. Why? I don’t know but thanks. I wish I would have thought that before I hired this person, but I will know in 2 days how it worked.

Thanks,

Steve

[sachingurjar11]

yeah you are right… you should talk to them before placing an order, so you will got the idea of his/her English skills are.
and Like I’m from India and English is not my native language but i can speak and understand English which will be good enough for my work that’s it.

[english_voice]

yeah you are right… you should talk to them before placing an order, so you will got the idea of his/her English skills are.

and Like I’m from India and English is not my native language but i can speak and understand English which will be good enough for my work that’s it.

One of the things I enjoy about Fiverr is the way people from different countries interact. I should also add that I have a tremendous amount of respect for people that can speak a second language.

However, we must also all remember that this is a business platform, and people need to describe their skills fairly. To say you are native in a language when you are clearly not is unfair on a potential buyer, and risks the seller receiving poor feedback.

[arnukas]

I know Fiverr’s lazy and won’t do it, but wouldn’t it be easier so Fiverr would give us to do an English test? If someone gets score below 6.0 (6.0+ means test passed), then that user would be ranked as a Basic speaker or even won’t have the rank at all, if someone reaches, for example, 8.0 score and above, he would be ranked and native speaker or fluent.

It’s my own opinion, because yes, as a seller myself, I did see a lot of users using native option next to their English level.

[mpgzyt]

This has happened to me the other way round…
I am a seller, I understood only English
Firstly he talked in English, then soon his conversation started coming all in German. I just asked him again to talk in English, then he would for 6 hours then again German, so I decided not to trouble him but I used Google translate to read his stuff… Had a tough time with him but still he was a good and patient buyer, so it was okay for me (by the way in his profile he had only English as his language and not German).