4 ms·

I got really frustrated the first time I spent an extended period of time in Germany, and was trying to learn German. Every time I tried to practice the langua

by dpifke 4y ago

I got really frustrated the first time I spent an extended period of time in Germany, and was trying to learn German. Every time I tried to practice the language, native speakers would immediately switch to English. I assumed this was because my German sucked. Someone finally explained to me that my beginner German was fine, but most people relished the opportunity to practice their English. I learned to just keep going in broken German, my conversation partner in broken English. For the most part, it worked.

TomK32 4y ago
As a German it took me quite some practice to get over this nicety and stick to German when talking with a foreigner who's bad at German but knows decent English.
t_mann 4y ago
There might be something else at play too - it's probably harder for them to remind themselves to slow down / speak in a sufficiently 'textbook-like' style in their own language than it is for them to switch to English.
Maultasche 4y ago
I had the same experience when I was doing an internship in Germany. One particular coworker kept speaking English to me, despite everyone else speaking German to me. At this point, I had lived there for a year already and spoke German pretty well, so comprehension definitely wasn't an issue. I think he was either used to speaking English with non-Germans or just liked having the opportunity to speak English. I just kept replying in German and he eventually switched to speaking German to me.
theturtle32 4y ago
I'm trying in earnest to learn Spanish, and am at intermediate level. I've had similar experiences trying to use Spanish in various contexts particularly in Southern California where I live, where there are a ton of native Spanish speakers that also speak English, and most of them speak FAR better English than I speak Spanish. Years into my language-learning adventure, I continue to feel super intimidated to try to use my Spanish here, locally, because people so often compliment my accent but the conversation quickly switches to English. I always feel like I'm creating frustration and inconvenience by trying to practice my Spanish, though it could just be my nervousness and desire to people-please that lead me to feel that way. I've had more of this kind of experience (Me speaking intermediate Spanish, with my conversation partner speaking intermediate English) in places outside of my home area where people are more likely to speak Spanish than English on a regular basis: a range of Latin American countries that I've visited, and especially when I visited the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
- codethief 4y ago
  You should come to southern Spain. Here, no one speaks English.
- jasonkester 4y ago
  I’ll second the advice of going someplace where nobody speaks English. There is lots of that in south and Central America. The absolute worst is places where most people speak English well but some don’t at all. Puerto Rico for example. I’d start off in Spanish and get answered back in perfect English a dozen times in a row, then finally give up and just speak English to somebody. Every single time, that would be the person who didn’t understand it. And every time I’d be so flustered at having to switch back on the fly that my own Spanish would disappear. In rural, undeveloped bits of Central America, though, I’d go weeks at a time without speaking English at all. It certainly boosts your confidence.

by dpifke 4y ago

TomK32 4y ago

As a German it took me quite some practice to get over this nicety and stick to German when talking with a foreigner who's bad at German but knows decent English.

t_mann 4y ago

There might be something else at play too - it's probably harder for them to remind themselves to slow down / speak in a sufficiently 'textbook-like' style in their own language than it is for them to switch to English.

Maultasche 4y ago

I had the same experience when I was doing an internship in Germany. One particular coworker kept speaking English to me, despite everyone else speaking German to me. At this point, I had lived there for a year already and spoke German pretty well, so comprehension definitely wasn't an issue. I think he was either used to speaking English with non-Germans or just liked having the opportunity to speak English. I just kept replying in German and he eventually switched to speaking German to me.

theturtle32 4y ago

I'm trying in earnest to learn Spanish, and am at intermediate level. I've had similar experiences trying to use Spanish in various contexts particularly in Southern California where I live, where there are a ton of native Spanish speakers that also speak English, and most of them speak FAR better English than I speak Spanish. Years into my language-learning adventure, I continue to feel super intimidated to try to use my Spanish here, locally, because people so often compliment my accent but the conversation quickly switches to English. I always feel like I'm creating frustration and inconvenience by trying to practice my Spanish, though it could just be my nervousness and desire to people-please that lead me to feel that way. I've had more of this kind of experience (Me speaking intermediate Spanish, with my conversation partner speaking intermediate English) in places outside of my home area where people are more likely to speak Spanish than English on a regular basis: a range of Latin American countries that I've visited, and especially when I visited the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

codethief 4y ago
You should come to southern Spain. Here, no one speaks English.
jasonkester 4y ago
I’ll second the advice of going someplace where nobody speaks English. There is lots of that in south and Central America. The absolute worst is places where most people speak English well but some don’t at all. Puerto Rico for example. I’d start off in Spanish and get answered back in perfect English a dozen times in a row, then finally give up and just speak English to somebody. Every single time, that would be the person who didn’t understand it. And every time I’d be so flustered at having to switch back on the fly that my own Spanish would disappear. In rural, undeveloped bits of Central America, though, I’d go weeks at a time without speaking English at all. It certainly boosts your confidence.