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In Görlitz we barely found anyone at all who could speak any English at all. We took the tourist "bus" ride, and the guide couldn't even explain to us that it was all in German. (I have to say - a very freaky place I have no wish to return to). Arriving in Wroclaw, it was a world of difference.
You went to a town in Germany with 50K people and found fewer English speakers than a city in Poland with 1.2 million people. That is just statistics.
At last someone else realize this, I lived in Germany almost a year and everytime I wanted to use English because my German was sometimes not good enough people told me that they don't speak English. It was also dificult for me to find English speakers, only a young guy in the bank almost at the end.
Yes we all know English is not mandatory but talking about learning new languages that is not the place where you can find lots of English speakers.
I have to strongly disagree. I know a few people who have been in Germany for years and get around too easily using English. That's the reason their German is still bad after years of living in Germany.
Most everyone in Germany speaks somewhere from basic to very good English. The average is not as good as in The Netherlands and Scandinavia but probably equal or better than anywhere else in Europe (not Counting the UK and Ireland). Generally the more educated speak English quite well the less educated may or may not. Those living where lots of US Military are or were stationed tend to be better at English as well. In the East the standard is not as high. Many I have met speak English okay but are uncertain of their ability and shy to try.
I moved to Germany not speaking the language and was living in a very rural area, I could get by okay in English but not so well as to keep me from learning German. I have a friend who has been living in Amsterdam for 6 or 7 years, Is married to a Dutch guy, she speaks 5 languages but is having a really hard time learning Dutch because when people realize she is not Dutch they just switch to English.
At least in Holland I think besides Education non Dubbed TV makes a difference, another Dutch friend of mine has two kids. They watch cartoons in English with Dutch subtitles and seemed to pick up a lot of English that way.
There is for many if not most people in Germany not the imperative to be good in English. Students have to take at least 5 years English classes, most had 6 years and probably about 40% of all students had English for 8 years. Mostly 4 hours a week. But many of them don't have the need to speak English after they had left school. All the TV programs is in German. If they travel to popular travel destinations for German tourists, employees there often speak German. And people in small towns in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern or Sachsen don't get in contact to English speaking people that often. Of course many people will lose their English speaking skills. In addition to this, many people in eastern Sachsen or eastern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are very narrow minded. That are some of the regions where we have the biggest problems with racism in Germany. And many elderly people in eastern Germany had never any English courses at school.
I'm pretty sure that not every American movie on Polnish TV is dubbed into Polnish. And in addition to this many Polnish people have worked temporarily in foreign countries. And if they go on holiday it's quite uncommon that they will encounter Polnish speaking employess.
Compared to other European countries with widespread national languages like France or Italy, the English skills of Germans are quite good in my experience.
Could the answer possibly be 'because in Germany the national language is German!'? Coming next week we ask 'why are people so bad at speaking Mandarin in Wales?
I have been to Germany before and I had no problems. I took a couple of years in German in school because I really like languages and was happy to practice my broken German. I think people appreciated it too. I think it shows respect to the place and people you visit to learn at least a few words and phrases in the local language. If I was going to visit Sweden, I would try to learn at least a bit of Swedish before my arrival as a courtesy.
I have to strongly disagree. I know a few people who have been in Germany for years and get around too easily using English. That's the reason their German is still bad after years of living in Germany.
I have no idea why "learning Math and history and geography" is remotely equivalent to going to a foreign country and expecting the residents to speak your preferred language rather than their native language.
I guess they don't teach logical reasoning in Swedish schools? Gaining general knowledge about the world and how things work has nothing to do with forcing other nations to bow to your language preferences.
It isn't a "favour". Germans are under no obligation to accommodate your particular language preferences. When in Rome, do as the Romans. I would never move to Sweden and then expect everyone to subjugate their preferences for mine.
In Sweden, the English lessons are as important, and as many, as the Swedish lessons. Its considered equally important as math, one of the "kärnämnena".
You can get totally 2500 "gymnasium points" after finising gymnasium (European high school, kinda) education, 750 of them are for the "kärnämnena" (which literally translates to standard subjects, or nuclear subjects). 100 of them are for proficiency in English, another 100 for proficiency in Swedish, another 100 for math, etc. To get the 100 points for English, you have to be able to speak English fluently and be able to take part in English conversations without preperation, in order to get the 100 points for English. Its pretty much considered as equally important as Swedish.
How is it in Germany?
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 02-23-2016 at 02:55 PM..
If I was going to visit Sweden, I would try to learn at least a bit of Swedish before my arrival as a courtesy.
Once they notice you are not Swedish and you struggle with some of it, the ones you talk to will change to their fluent English. Just like in the Netherlands.
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