Comments on: How to convince natives to speak to you in their language

By: Ken Seeroi

Ken Seeroi — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:21:00 +0000

I guess this is a universal problem. (I thought it was just Japan.) One solution that works well is to get out of big cities and out with the country folk, who generally speak less English. That introduces another issue, however, in that instead of having intellectual conversations with college-educated people, you end up talking about soil conditions and harvesting. But as long as your down with crop rotation, you’ll be fine.

By: Jeff Winchell

Jeff Winchell — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:32:00 +0000

If you have a little patience, continue to speak in the language you want. This will usually get the other person to switch to it too.

For two years I ran a cafe for English speakers in a mid-size German city. About half the customers were non-native English speakers (and if you know the German culture, the reticence to speak imperfectly causes many to speak little to know English if they can get away with it).

The point of this place was to encourage English speaking. So even with the native English speakers, particularly the regulars – they would sometimes slip into German (or some other non-English language) and I would just keep talking English until they switched back.

With the non-native speakers, I also kept speaking English and they would eventually get the courage to start speaking English.

So I don’t think you need to be particularly persuasive – just persistent.

By: Benny the Irish polyglot

Benny the Irish polyglot — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 19:14:00 +0000

Best of luck!!

By: Benny the Irish polyglot

Benny the Irish polyglot — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:45:00 +0000

I’m not interested in the contradiction. If they say it’s unfair I tell them that I was the one who went to all the trouble to move my life across the world to learn their language.
If someone in your home country is not willing to help you then move on to the next one. Contradiction be damned – if I want to learn a foreign language, someone else’s interest in a boring one like English isn’t going to get in my way
I meet plenty of 12-35 year olds who will be happy to let me speak their language with them once I genuinely try. If you aren’t trying hard enough then only the old will help you simply because they don’t want to or don’t need to (for professional reasons) learn English.
Sometimes it’s a battle of wits, but if you truly want to learn the language you’ll always win in the end They’ll find an army of lazy English speakers they can practice with elsewhere.

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:10:00 +0000

Hey Benny! I’ve subscribed to your emails, and found a link to this article through one of them – really good tips! I’m currently working in Brussels and trying to improve my French, but because I’m working (even with a mainly Francophone staff), it’s sometimes difficult to try to get corrected when you’re focusing on just communication – often it invariably ends up with me getting flustered/worried the other person is getting frustrated and I trail of into english…. I’m making more of an effort now, and also trying to give lovely smiles to my work colleagues when they have time to correct me (normally when we’re outside the office)!

… I have to say though, I’m also supplementing this with French evening classes, because I know that there at least the French teacher will correct me, particularly if it’s a mistake they feel I should ‘know better’ than to make!

I’m linking you into a post I’ve made about ‘language hurdles’ – I really like the attitude you take in general on this blog, that you can make so much more progress if you just ‘profite du temps’ and stay focused. Awesome.

By: Your Life Amp

Your Life Amp — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 01:31:00 +0000

Mon français n’est pas très bon. Je vis en Australie, mais j’apprends lentement J’aime essayer de lire et comprends un peu.

Excellent article Benny. I have not had problems finding French people who are all to happy to help me learn! I find simply asking is the best way.

If you do find people who are only interested in practicing their English, that is fair game, and I find the bilingual conversations are the best way to go, especially when your vocabulary and command of the language is limited.

By: softwater

softwater — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:27:03 +0000

Good luck. One thing you'll have to watch out for is that written Thai is based on Central Thai, but in the south words and tones can be pronounced differently from Central Thai. Also, even in Central Thai, some words are pronounced with a different tone in speech from the one given in writing. For example, the pronoun for he/she is written as เขา (khao – rising tone), but is usually pronounced with a high tone เค้า (khao – high tone).

If the words before the brackets like this อย่างนี่ (yahng-nee – low + high tone = 'like this) come out as asci garble, you 'll need to download and install thai fonts on your computer. Worth doing, if you haven't done it already.

Good luck

By: Mario

Mario — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:12:32 +0000

Hi Benny! I've been reading your site for some time and like it a lot. After reading these stories I remember that in France I asked something to the receptionist in French and she answered in English even though she couldn't say much. I am Mexican so I really don't know why she did it, it was clear that she was having a hard time trying to say just some words in a language she didn't feel comfortable with. However I also remember having been asked something in English (also in France) by another receptionist. The guy was doing an effort but I understood little other than “room”. I told him I spoke French and he was immediately delighted! Besides, people were very kind to me in the streets whenever I needed some help

By: Patk

Patk — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:56:25 +0000

A première vue ton niveau de français ne souffre pas tant.
C’est un peu mesquin, mais si on te parle anglais, tu pourrais répondre avec un accent inspiré de Deliverance (et le plus vite possible) ; ensuite tu répètes en français tranquillement : tu as une chance qu’ils n’insistent pas trop pour converser en anglais.
Sinon, en s’éloignant de Jouy-en-Josas ou Toussus-le-Noble et en rencontrant des non-étudiants – par exemple si tu prends quelques vacances à Arnac-la-Poste ou Ayguatébia-Talau – tu devrais croiser plus de non-anglophones.

(Sorry for non-French-speakers here, I take it that these people expect answers in French).

By: Patk

Patk — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:56:00 +0000

(Sorry for non-French-speakers here, I take it that these people expect answers in French).

By: Shane

Shane — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:03:28 +0000

c’est pareil avec moi. je suis en France pour faire un master…et…étant américain, tout le monde veut me parler en anglais. En plus, comme je suis dans un programme de master… j’e dois vivre avec d’autres américains qui font partie du programme. Mon niveau de français souffre!!! aghhh help! est-ce qui’il y a quelqu’un qui peut me donner des idées/conseils?! Merci

By: Shane

Shane — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:03:00 +0000

By: benny

benny — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:22:16 +0000

@Katia I’m sure mum and I would get along! I have to admit that I’ve tried the “I don’t speak English” route; even being from Ireland I’ve “exaggerated” how well I speak Irish Gaelic compared to English and given the irrelevant fact that Irish Gaelic is actually the official language of Ireland (since it is). I only do this in emergency situations though, usually just asking nicely works But since I was an English teacher for a long time I also feel like charging people when they insist on English…

@QuirkyN
Glad you found my blog and you can already see that others can help you with your Hungarian As I said, I regularly claim not to speak English. Probably should have mentioned it in this post! May come back to it later!
Thanks for the Portuguese offer, but I’ll have plenty of in-person practise for the next 3 months…

By: benny

benny — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:22:00 +0000

By: Quirky Nomad

Quirky Nomad — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:16:10 +0000

I just found this awesome post and will definitely check out the rest of the blog. I’m currently doing something similar; I came to Hungary to learn Hungarian, and fortunately I’m not having the same problem Piotrek described. People are really surprised that I know their language (even though my Hungarian is very basic) and really appreciate it! In the rare occasions where people respond to me in English, I do something that wasn’t covered in your post: I pretend I don’t speak English! I feel very silly doing it, but it works! Of course, that’s only possible with casual interactions with strangers, but it helps. By the way, I’m Brazilian, so let me know if you ever want to chat in Portuguese.
.-= Quirky Nomad´s last blog ..18th Budapest International Wine Festival =-.

By: Quirky Nomad

Quirky Nomad — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:16:00 +0000

By: Funzdi

Funzdi — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:01:26 +0000

I wonder if you are talking about the same country.
Where I live, the average level in English is so abysmal – including in 3-star hotels – that most people will be relieved if you happen to speak some French. Except maybe if your prosody is too different, in which case they will think that you are still speaking in English (I’m not kidding) and will give you their best deer-in-the-headlights look.

It is true though that we are a bit spoilt: we are not accustomed to hearing broken French, given that although many foreigners live here, most of them speak French flawlessly.

By: Funzdi

Funzdi — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:01:00 +0000

It is true though that we are a bit spoilt: we are not accustomed to hearing broken French, given that although many foreigners live here, most of them speak French flawlessly.

By: Ekaterina

Ekaterina — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:17:00 +0000

This post made me laugh, – very well written!
I had this problem in the Netherlands when I tried to learn Dutch. I used another tip there. I simply said (in Dutch) that I didn’t speak any English, or I started to speak French when Dutch people were replying to me in English.
My mother is even better in this. She also struggled wth her Dutch colleagues when she tried to speak Dutch to them, and she asked for a pound each time when someone would start speaking English to her.
That’s the reverse tactic of being paid, instead of paying to learn the language…
I will send my mom to your site, – she will love it!
.-= Ekaterina´s last blog ..Friends when you travel. How to make new ones? =-.

By: Ekaterina

Ekaterina — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:17:00 +0000