[Albion] Yves Bissouma learning English

Thunder Bolt said:

It helps to have a passport to get to France for the campsite.

Seriously, I'm trying to keep my brain active to offset dementia, although coming onto Nsc doesn't help.

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Gwylan said:

Just tell them that you want to speak in the other language. I've never found anyone insist on speaking in English when you tell them that you don't want to.

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Gilliver's Travels said:

You're right. I found that learning basic Greek made a huge difference to my three years in Crete. I met Brits, holed up in their enclaves, who'd not learnt a word of the language after ten years. You can imagine how well that went down with the locals. And those Brits were missing out on so much.

Living and working as an immigrant in someone else's country is an extraordinary, life-affirming privilege that, sadly, will soon become much harder for any of us to experience in future.

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Rodney Thomas said:

It helps that the Greeks absolutely love it when a foreigner speaks their language (or at least tries). My wife is Greek so I've learnt enough to get by, the reaction is always fantastic and really makes you want to get better.

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McTavish said:

I try to learn enough of a language before I go on holiday to make myself vaguely intelligble for the absolute basics - numbers, yes, no, thanks, sorry, where are the loos, table for two, can I have that one? etc. In the past few years I have learnt (and mostly forgotten) bits of Croat, Spanish, Czech, Estonian, German and Arabic [traditional NSC stealth holiday boast]. Off to Crete this summer so - duo mpures parakalo!

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Albion my Albion said:

I find that Germans who almost 80% speak English for 8 to 10 years don't want non-German speakers to try German. They seem to behave like dogs hearing a high pitched noise.

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Gwylan said:

Hmm... I have been to parties in Germany, been down the pub with groups of Germans, been shopping, gone to the cinema and countless eating places and not once has any German (most of whom can speak English) ever said they don't want me speaking German.

I'd also say that the estimate of 80% is way, way too high. Yes, most Germans at degree level can speak reasonable English but lots can't.

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