{"id":1163,"date":"2023-02-16T09:54:29","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T09:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laurajanebaxter.com\/?p=1163"},"modified":"2023-02-16T10:10:03","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T10:10:03","slug":"3-more-struggles-only-the-native-english-understand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laurajanebaxter.com\/?p=1163","title":{"rendered":"3 more struggles only the native English understand"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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So, you’ve decided that you really want to learn a foreign language. But, as a native English language learner, there are struggles that you face that non-native English speakers simply don’t understand. They don’t realise how difficult it is for you. They don’t realise that you face obstacles they don’t even realise that, half the time, they’re creating. Last week, I wrote an article called “3 struggles only the native English understand”. Here are 3 <\/span>more <\/i><\/b>struggles that only native English language learners understand.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Struggle 4: People actively stop you from practising using the language<\/b><\/h2>

I cannot count the number of times when I’ve been abroad that I’ve been trying to practise the foreign language I was learning, and the person who was with me spoke to me in English. There are various reasons for this. Often, if they know you’re a native English speaker, they want to practise their English. English is <\/span>by far<\/i><\/b> the most common second language to learn in the world, and so practically everyone you meet will jump at the opportunity to practise their English, and natives are exciting rare breeds. Other people – native Italians, Portuguese, Bulgarians, Ukrainians – don’t experience this problem anyway near as much as you do.<\/span><\/p>

You’ve taken the leap, you’ve gone out to their country to learn and improve your language skills, and as soon as you land, people are dying to speak to you in your native language, and actively stop you from getting exposure to the foreign tongue.<\/span><\/p>

Struggle 5: Their English is always better than you are at speaking their language<\/b><\/h2>

And yet, for foreigners, it’s usually the other way around. Not only do they <\/span>have<\/span><\/i> to speak a foreign language when they’re abroad in order to be understood, but there’s usually quite a lot of the foreign language in their home country anyway. This means that, in whatever country you’re in, people might just speak to you in English as a way of trying to be nice, and make it easier to communicate. Because they’ve had so much exposure and practice at English, their English is leaps and bounds ahead of your ability in their language. And people are lazy. So, what do they do? They speak to each other in the way that makes communicating easiest. And that’s almost always English.<\/span><\/p>

My best friend is native Portuguese, and I’ve learned Portuguese. People naively say to me, “Oh, it must be so easy to get practice because your best friend is a native speaker! How lucky!” But, in reality, it almost never happens. In fact, it’s probably one of the most unlucky things: I have a native speaker of my target language that I can chat with for hundreds of hours every year, and yet that opportunity is trapped behind the giant that is the all-pervasiveness of English. Why? Because it’s so much easier to chat in English: his English is miles ahead of my Portuguese level. And so, we’re lazy, and keep speaking in English, which exacerbates the problem.<\/span><\/p>

He’s not actively trying to prevent me from learning, and he wants every success for me in life. He cheers on my progress. People are never being malicious or trying to knock you down. Instead, they’re lazy. We want to communicate with each other freely and with ease. We don’t want to struggle when the conversation gets intimate, or technical and, unfortunately, we know there’s a very simple, effort-free way we can avoid that struggle. Switch to English.<\/span><\/p>

Even I, as a polyglot, am trapped in these problems.<\/span><\/p>

Struggle 6: Your native language is the international language<\/b><\/h2>

Italian<\/span><\/i>, by and large, is the language that <\/span>Italian <\/span><\/i>people speak in <\/span>Italy<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>

Russian<\/span><\/i>, by and large, is the language that <\/span>Russian <\/span><\/i>people speak in <\/span>Russia<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>

German<\/span><\/i>, by and large, is the language that <\/span>German <\/span><\/i>people speak in <\/span>Germany<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>

But <\/span>English<\/i><\/b>?<\/span><\/p>

English isn’t the language of the English people. Nowadays, <\/span>English is the language of the world.<\/b> English is the international language that we all share, no matter which country we’re in, or where we’re from. Check out<\/span> this video<\/span><\/a> to get more of an insight into what English is like, as an international language, and<\/span> what makes English different<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

Suppose you go to a different country where any resident there could take an educated guess that you’re not from that country. Perhaps you’re white, and you’re in Japan. Maybe you’re black British, and you’re in Poland. Or, you’re of Indian descent, and you’re in Spain. People don’t know where you’re from, but they know you’re a foreigner. They want to communicate with you – in the street, in a shop, wherever. So what language do they think it’s most likely you’ll understand? English, obviously. Not because you’re native English, but because practically everybody understands English.<\/span><\/p>

I’m relatively tall, I don’t have brown eyes, and I have dyed blonde hair. I can’t count the number of times when people have literally tried to convince me that I’m German. And yet, on the basis of this idea, they don’t speak to me in German: obviously not. They speak to me in English. Because practically everybody understands English.<\/span><\/p>

It always used to be really weird to me when I’d see non-native English friends speaking to each other in English. I remember seeing a Slovakian and a Portuguese native chatting away in English. I thought:<\/span><\/p>

What are you doing?<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Why aren’t you speaking in Slovakian or Portuguese?<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Why are you speaking to each other in my native language?<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Here’s why: to them, it’s not <\/span>your native language<\/span><\/i>. It’s not like Slovakian or Portuguese. They’re speaking in the international language. And to them, they have learned that, when you’re speaking to someone from a different country, you need to use the international language.<\/span><\/p>

So it’s everywhere. Everywhere you go, even if people don’t think you’re native English, if you are in any way perceived as slightly foreign, or slightly international, they’ll most likely have English up their sleeve, ready to pounce on you, and hold you back from getting that exposure you need, in order to break out of this bubble the world has trapped you in.<\/span><\/p>

Main Takeaway:<\/b><\/h2>

Nobody realises it, but the odds are stacked against you.<\/span><\/p>

English isn’t like other languages.<\/span><\/p>

You don’t need to be ashamed or embarrassed at your lack of success with foreign languages, because you face struggles that foreigners don’t.<\/span><\/p>

From a native-English polyglot to an aspiring one, there’s hope.<\/span><\/p>

But let’s starts with self-compassion.<\/span><\/p>

Call-to-Action:<\/b><\/h2>

The next time you speak to a foreigner with fluent, near-perfect native-level English, try to remember that your native language isn’t comparable to theirs. You’re speaking the international language, and that’s how they see English.<\/span><\/p>

Itching for more?<\/b><\/h2>

If you’re interested in understanding <\/span>how <\/span><\/i>English came to have this unique status as the international language, I recommend checking out LangFocus’ video:<\/span> Why Did English Become the International Language?<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Or do you particularly like my writing style? Then here are some more posts that might tickle your taste buds:<\/span><\/p>

Can I really learn a language by binge-watching Netflix?<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Yearning to learn a language for no good reason<\/span><\/a><\/p>

What a “lexical item” is and why you need to know about it<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Help! I want to learn a language but I hate studying it<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, you’ve decided that you really want to learn a foreign language. But, as a native English language learner, there are struggles that you face that non-native English speakers simply don’t understand. They don’t realise how difficult it is for you. 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