Everything can sound new and confusing when you're learning a new language, especially when it comes to a language like English, which very often does not follow its own rules. Luckily, for us engineers, there are systems. Four of them, and they are called the English language systems.
One of the first things I do with my engineers is help them to understand these English language systems. The only problem? Language isn't static. No one English speaker follows the same system, but that can work to your advantage.
When I invited Andrea Zimmerl on my podcast, English for Engineers, we ended up talking about systems. Andrea is a plastics engineer who became a communication trainer, a career coach and a dog trainer, and she spent years running a Women in STEM programme in Austria. She works internationally, and she has learned that systems keep her out of communication trouble even with people from cultures she has never worked with before.
While we spoke about a lot of different topics during our conversation, I wanted to highlight systems. What they are, how they can help you, and how to notice if someone is operating from a different language system than you're used to.
What Is a System?
A system is a set of principles that are followed when something is done. It's just a set of rules. As engineers, the idea of systems is enticing. We like to work with predictable systems.
So, when we're talking about learning technical English, it's easy to immediately think of the grammar book, but that's not the only set of rules that English follows. There are many systems to the English language. The main systems are grammar, vocabulary, phonology*, and discourse*. The beauty of recognising systems is this: it's simple to see what you're already good at and where you need to improve your Business English or Technical English.
There are also communication systems that, once you get the basics of the language down, are even more important in international settings.
While learning sets of rules can build a foundation, you're not learning a language unless you put the systems to use. This is when systems become a skill. When we learn English together, we work on understanding the system and practising the skill, which is often quite different from how we learned in school.
Once you learn the system and understand it, you can play around with it. When you're really good, you can twist the system, e.g. intentionally breaking the rules, like using local slang ('my bad' instead of 'sorry').
English Systems Are Unique
Learning how to twist systems like a native speaker requires a deep understanding of the rules of the language. The important thing when learning Business English is to understand the system so well that you can break the rules. That's when the real fun of language happens.
You can't break any old rule. You first have to learn the system. Some systems in English simply can't be broken. For example, when you have multiple adjectives in English, they're listed in a specific order. It's extremely rare for a native speaker to change this grammar/syntax rule. The order is opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, and purpose. So, you can say My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but My Greek big fat wedding is wrong.
On the other hand, there are many instances when English doesn't follow the rules, especially in spoken English, even in business settings.
Add on the many different English dialects, and every English speaker follows their own unique system. The rules an Australian follows will look very different from the rules an Indian English speaker follows, for example. Your project is probably already running more than one Technical English.
As a non-native speaker of English, you'll have your own way of speaking that's unique to you. Whether that's your accent or something else, remember that no native English speaker sounds the same. How we speak is individual to us, even in a business setting. So, remember, as long as others understand what you're communicating, the business English system you're using is working.
How To Notice Different Systems
As a non-native speaker of English working in international settings, all this rule-breaking gets confusing. Even worse, it can lead to miscommunication. So, how do you uncover the unique communication system someone is operating from? Here is what Andrea recommends:
Open up to what others are saying
When you're uncomfortable with a language, it's easy to focus on saying what you need to say. It can take a lot of effort to speak your sentences. So much so that you don't notice what others are saying, both with their voice and body language. Except you can't just say your piece and leave. You have to be open to others' reactions.
Notice body language
Similarly, noticing body language can help you understand a different communication system. That's why Andrea always recommends Zoom calls instead of ordinary phone calls. In international settings, it is important to be able to notice different communication systems in as many ways as possible. Remember, though, that body communication might differ from your own. That's why taking it slow, truly listening, and watching are so important.
Don't ignore gut feelings
I know as an engineer, we want to follow facts and figures. But when it comes to communication, our gut feeling is usually right. When you feel like someone doesn't understand you or something seems wrong, you should check in with them. Even if things are going well, it's a good idea to check in occasionally. Andrea says she can almost always tell when a conversation isn't in alignment, and you will be able to do this as well if you listen to your gut feelings.
Most people are open-minded
If you're working in an international setting, chances are people are used to slowing down, asking for clarification, and looking for signs of your communication system. In our digital age, understanding the systems at play in any setting is essential for a successful work environment. Perfect language skills aren't expected, but an openness to learn and understand one another is.
More on reading a room across cultures.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are four: grammar, vocabulary, phonology (the sound system) and discourse (how sentences connect into longer stretches of language). Every English speaker uses all four, native or not. Splitting the language up this way is useful because it shows you quickly what you already do well and what doesn't work yet. Most engineers I teach are strong on vocabulary and much weaker on discourse.
A system is the set of rules. A skill is what happens when you use those rules under pressure. You can know the rule and still lose the sentence in a site meeting on a Tuesday afternoon. Learning a system takes hours. Turning it into a skill takes practice, and that's the part school usually skips.
Some of them, once you know them well enough to break them on purpose. Native speakers do it constantly. Other rules don't bend at all: adjective order is one of them. In an international project the more useful question isn't "is this correct", it's "will this be understood?".
You don't have to pick one. Your project is probably running several English language systems side by side already, and your Indian, Australian and Dutch colleagues are all using the basics differently. The job isn't to choose a winner. It's to notice the differences and to ask when something sounds off.
Take something you wrote or said in English last week and sort the problems into the four boxes. Wrong word, wrong structure, hard to follow, hard to hear. Most engineers find everything lands in one or two boxes, and that's where the work is.
Language Notes
*Phonology: the sound system of a language. Think of phonology as the specification and pronunciation as the built result. It covers which sounds exist in English, which ones are allowed to sit next to each other, where the stress falls in a word, and how your voice rises and falls across a sentence.
*Discourse: the level above grammar. Grammar holds a sentence together; discourse holds a series of sentences together so they still make sense. Signposting in a meeting is discourse. "Before we move on." "Let me come back to that." "So, to summarise."
Where To Start
If you want a shortcut into this, start on the writing side. My free Technical English Guidelines cover the rules that decide whether a document lands, and they'll give you a fast read on which of the English language systems is costing you the most time.
If you'd rather talk it through, book a free 15-minute call. No pitch. We'll work out where your English is slowing your projects down.
This conversation came from episode 9 of the English for Engineers podcast, with Andrea Zimmerl: Vienna Waits for You.
Original Post from 9 January 2023; latest update: 24 August 2026.
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