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> I did know that French don't know English as much as they do not want to speak English yet I am still amazed by how much. I hate it when I hear the stereotyp
by yodsanklai 7y ago
> I did know that French don't know English as much as they do not want to speak English yet I am still amazed by how much.
I hate it when I hear the stereotype "French people do speak English but they're not going to because they are so proud" (maybe not exactly what you're saying...). It's simply untrue. People who speak good English will very happy to practice whenever the opportunity shows up.
It's not easy to learn a foreign language, and most French people who didn't have the opportunity to study abroad, or who don't need English at their workplace don't speak English very well. However, I think most of them speak some English, as long as you're patient and don't expect them to be fluent. For many people, it's intimidating to speak English, even if they've learnt the basics at school.
> they have their own French speaking view of the planet
Indeed, they live in a country where they can get by using their own national language and most of them don't have enough opportunities to meet English speaking foreigners. Why should you expect them to learn your language, especially if you're the one moving there?
> Germany where English are much more/better spoken
English is hard for roman languages speakers. It seeems Italian, Spaniards, French have a harder time than Germans or Dutch...
- learner124 7y agoPatience is definitely key and most people who only speak one language have no patience for someone who partially knows their language to talk to them. I've been learning Spanish and traveling in Latin America and the only people I can successfully have actual conversations with in Spanish are ones who also know English because they seem to understand what it's like to have trouble expressing themselves. I'll speak in Spanish and they listen even though I'm slower than a normal person and I'll do the same if they talk back to me in English.