I had the same experience. I spent a bit more than 1 year in Sweden and pretty much spoke English the whole time. I did learn a bit of Swedish via reading, w

I had the same experience. I spent a bit more than 1 year in Sweden and pretty much spoke English the whole time. I did learn a bit of Swedish via reading, watching TV, etc, but it was near to impossible to actually practice my Swedish with people. I would say something with an obvious foreign accent, and they would just switch to English immediately. In any setting, at the grocery store, in a bar, at work, at the freaking McDonald's. In a way, they don't really have many other options, it's not like the Swedish language has any sort of "soft power" in the world. But still, it would have been nice to be able to practice a bit more :)