> Insisting on speaking English with you, thus slowing your integration. Insist back. Repeatedly. Germans (usually) don't do this out of malice, they do this

> Insisting on speaking English with you, thus slowing your integration. Insist back. Repeatedly. Germans (usually) don't do this out of malice, they do this out of (in this case, misunderstood and shortsighted) kindness and friendlyness. They try to be welcoming and make it easy for a foreigner by speaking English, thus removing the language barrier. To them, speaking English is improving your integration, at least in the short term, because you can communicate easily and efficiently right now. If you just ask once to speak German, you will be ignored since it is assumed that you are just doing this out of politeness. It is, to Germans, perfectly acceptable if you then insist on speaking German nonetheless and point out that you are not requesting German out of politeness but a desire to learn. But the default mode for a German will always me to speak English to foreigners, never German. Speaking slowly and simply has a similar connotation of impoliteness. If you speak slow and simplified German to a foreigner you are (in a German's mind) pointing out their flawed grasp of the language, thus offending the foreigner. Better to "compliment" the foreigner by speaking "normally", thus pointing out the foreigner's competence...