Ah. You must be in Paris. Everywhere else in the world, making an effort to speak the local tongue is seen as a great compliment. Even in places like Toulouse, or Marseille. But in Paris? No matter how well you speak French, it’s never good enough, you stupid American.
Don’t feel bad, Sarah! In my experience (assuming you’re overseas) them switching to English is a golden opportunity for them. Just as you want to learn their language, they want to learn English and there’s no better teacher than the average joe…or the scribbled Sarah, in this case!
Years ago, in Germany, I was trying to get directions, using my high school knowledge of German. The person I was asking was very patient. Eventually, I turned to my companion and said, in English “okay, I think I’ve got it”. The German then said, also in English, “Oh, you’re American! Sorry, but I couldn’t figure out what accent that was.”
There’s a game you can play. Each person speaks the language foreign to them. The one who manages to stay in the foreign language longest wins. It’s very hard to speak a foreign language while hearing your own. I knew my German was improving when I started winning the game.
Trying to have a conversation with someone new to the language can be trying. I remember this from my first years in Sweden, the Swedes just switched because trying to sort out what I was trying to say was just too difficult :-)
The Old Wolf over 1 year ago
Ah. You must be in Paris. Everywhere else in the world, making an effort to speak the local tongue is seen as a great compliment. Even in places like Toulouse, or Marseille. But in Paris? No matter how well you speak French, it’s never good enough, you stupid American.
TwilightFaze over 1 year ago
Don’t feel bad, Sarah! In my experience (assuming you’re overseas) them switching to English is a golden opportunity for them. Just as you want to learn their language, they want to learn English and there’s no better teacher than the average joe…or the scribbled Sarah, in this case!
Kaputnik over 1 year ago
Years ago, in Germany, I was trying to get directions, using my high school knowledge of German. The person I was asking was very patient. Eventually, I turned to my companion and said, in English “okay, I think I’ve got it”. The German then said, also in English, “Oh, you’re American! Sorry, but I couldn’t figure out what accent that was.”
annqueue over 1 year ago
There’s a game you can play. Each person speaks the language foreign to them. The one who manages to stay in the foreign language longest wins. It’s very hard to speak a foreign language while hearing your own. I knew my German was improving when I started winning the game.
bunwarpgazoo Premium Member over 1 year ago
Trying to have a conversation with someone new to the language can be trying. I remember this from my first years in Sweden, the Swedes just switched because trying to sort out what I was trying to say was just too difficult :-)
alibey over 1 year ago
When I was overseas, the locals seem to appreciate that I was attempting to learn and communicate in their language.