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From living abroad in a few different countries, this just isn't the case for most people unless a specific effort has to be sought out to find similar people.
by Larrikin 9y ago
From living abroad in a few different countries, this just isn't the case for most people unless a specific effort has to be sought out to find similar people. A large number of people will simply default to hanging out with people who speak the same language as them when they want to relax.
Most people, but obviously not everyone, until they reach a certain level feel slightly uneasy in a situation where they are the only non-native. I've been in the situation many times and had a good time, but the anxiety is there. What I found the most interesting was that non-native but well spoken English speakers were also more comfortable with English speakers while they were learning a new language.
When you aren't forced into the situation, say living in the countryside of a foreign country, or you aren't extremely studious its fairly natural to spend your down time with native speakers.
- turbinerneiter 9y agoI'm a German native speaker at a University in Germany. In our CubeSat project, we all use English most of the time. A good third of the students are foreign, from India, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the rest of the world. We chose to speak a language _native to none of us_ to be _inclusive to all_. Everybody speaks English to such an extent that it becomes the lingua france of students in Germany. I think students coming to the US should be able to use English, too. Especially given the TOFL/whatever language test you have to pass to be admitted. Btw, a common story the exchange students tell is how stupid the other exchange students who only stay among themselves are.
- honestoHeminway 9y agoErasmus students are famous for only arriving and leaving in flocks. You cant talk to one alone, you got to communicate with the hive!
- Oleg_Chen 9y agoWow, that's cool. Can you please tell the name of the Uni ?
- turbinerneiter 9y agoTU Munich