For reference, I don't have a teacher.

An online resource I used described 'のために' as being 'for the benefit' of when
a verb is involved - the structure being NOUN のために VERB

The example given was

> 日本語 が わからない人 の ため に えいご で 話してください  
>  _Please speak English for the benefit of people that don't understand
> Japanese._

The sentence I was _trying_ to write was: Please speak Japanese for the
benefit of me / Please speak JAPANESE for MY benefit. What I got was:

> 私の ため に 日本語 で 話してください

My Japanese friends don't understand what I'm trying to say at all and can't
point out what's wrong with this sentence - just that it's gibberish.

'I' is technically a noun. 'To speak' is the verb. Where did I go wrong?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-06T10:07:36.767
48084
2017-06-06T10:57:39.570
2017-06-06T10:24:55.020
11792
14211
question
grammar syntax
'のために’ Usage - Why is 「私の ため に 日本語 で 話してください」 incorrect?
This might be a mistake in your post rather than what you actually wrote to
your Japanese friends, however what you've written in Japanese is:

_Please speak Japanese for my benefit_

Not

_Please speak English for my benefit_

If this is **_actually_** what you wrote, this would explain their confusion.
Your sentence is fine, there are slightly more natural ways to express the
same thing, but there should be no reason for any confusion beyond you saying
_Japanese_ instead of _English_.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-06T10:17:14.323
48085
2017-06-06T10:17:14.323
7477
48084
answer
I think 私のために、日本語で話してください is grammatically correct. However if you are non-
Japanese, your Japanese friends might be a bit confused because they would
expect to be said "私のために、英語で話してください" so that you could understand.

If you said 私の日本語の勉強のために、日本語で話してください, they would be able to understand what
you said.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-06T10:57:39.570
48086
2017-06-06T10:57:39.570
7320
48084
answer