As English is a language which allows you to basically get around anywhere in the world, many native English speakers do not need to speak a foreign language. I often meet Brits and Americans that have been here for a long time but don't even speak basic German or French as they can get around without speaking it.

Personally, I find it rather amusing that so many native English speakers make themselves look like idiots when they are spoken to in a foreign language and then start to answer in English. I think living in another country and speaking the local language(s) opens a lot of new doors that othewise remain closed and provide you with a much better understanding of the country you live in.

How about the people on this forum. How many native English speakers here speak a foreign language? (to the extent they can have a normal conversation with someone: not just ja and nein).

Im Dutch and speak English, German and limited French.

French, Italian and German. But always slowly and LOUDLY... keep that British flag flying ;-)

Yeh, but that's cheating - of course you can speak other languages, you're a foreigner...

Stuart wants to show off

I'm a brit and speak fluent German and pretty good french. Swiss German is something else though !!

I'm Scottish, when i first arrived here i had to learn to speak English so that people could understand me.

Now i'm comfortable talking with the Swiss in their language about anything. It does make life so much easier when you "can do it their way".

Not really - but I guess my English isnt that good because thats not the message I wanted to get across...

Had to laugh at that as it's what I had to do to. Now I go back to Scotland and all my friends tell I talk right posh .

At the moment I can hold a basic conversation in German but have problems expressing myself. I'm aiming to be a lot more fluent by the end of the year.

And there is the crux of the problem.

The Dutch educational system starts to teach languages at an early age. Not everything is dubbed into the native language - some things (many?) are subtitled and the original language is heard. In English speaking countries, foreign languages are the last on the list in education - they have a hard enough time with literacy rates in English, to be frank.

English speaking cultures don't value foreign languages as other cultures do.

I studied French and Spanish at school/Uni in NZ, and I agree about English-speaking nations not valuing knowledge of foreign languages, as I am in the distinct minority of my countrymen. I've found my French is limited, since it was not practised for years whilst I was doing my PhD in NZ, but it has been enough for me to read signs and newspapers comfortably in Lausanne, and write emails. My speaking/listening is not as good - enough for me to get by, but I still feel like I'm trapped at times, and I can't express myself easily enough.

My Spanish is considerably better - in fact, when I visited several apartments recently that were being offered by Spanish speakers, I found it much easier to talk to them in Spanish than in French. It was weird - a Spaniard and a Kiwi speaking Spanish to each other, in French-speaking Switzerland....

One reason for that may be purely economical! Switzerland is the only country I had ever heard of having everything in 3 if not 4 languages. The costs must be outrageous, but worth it! Everyone comes out feeling respected in the end.

If they had tried such a thing in America, with all sorts of immigrants from everywhere, how many languages would they have to read on their yogurt label in the morning?

Another reason in the States was the need to feel "united" - in spite of coming from different places. The need to unite and choose one language was more important than the need to carry on old world traditions and languages. I think choosing one language and letting the rest of the languages slide was an understandable decision, though it most certainly was not the best solution.

That's the thing with pioneering, you learn as you go.

I get that, too, when I go back home to the States. Everyone assumes that I "talk funny" and use strange expressions because I don't get enough practice speaking English, in spite of my job as an English teacher!

I was once helping an American tourist in an Internet café, and after thanking me, she added, "Your English is really good, by the way!" - as if I were a "foreigner."

I just smiled and said, "Thank you!"

In reply to Stuart... I always answer back in English, so I must be one of the ones who amuse you... everything is so different here that I just cant be bothered learning the language to be frank... getting the washing done is enough hard work... In Australia I didnt care at all when I met people who had lived there for years and who couldnt speak any English... live and let live... that said, Im starting French lessons this week...

And in the process, they isolate themselves from teh rest of the world. But this isn't limited to the US, not by a long stretch. Canada doesn't do a great job - most English speaking Canadians don't speak French very well and vise versa, those from the UK aren't any more fluent than Americans, and the same goes for the other English speaking countries in the world.

I have amazing conversations in German once I've had a glass of wine. I have no problem understanding Swiss German, thanks to Schweiz Aktuell. The only time I resort to speaking English is with snooty sales staff. I'm more than prepared to speak German when I go shopping, but Swiss sales staff have taught me that when I'm alone (without my perfectly Swiss husband) they'll give me better service if I speak English.

Well Stuart, I find it amusing when I hear Dutch people talking in English because it reminds me so much of Mike Myers' character, Gold Member.

I've lived in Zurich for less than a year and can go so far with "High" German in a conversation but then it's inevitable that I will get lost at some point. I do have German lessons but the trouble is I have an English speaking job, all my friends (not just English) speak English, and most Swiss people tend to either want to speak English or stick to very fast Swiss German.

True dat!
It just makes me even prouder to break out of the mold!

I'm Canadian and speak a few languages (French, German, Swiss German and Spanish) but it still didn't guarantee me acceptance into the Swiss community here. Still, tho, I think it's important to learn - I have a few friends who have been here for years and years and still haven't tried to learn how to speak to locals. I can't help but feel a little annoyed at them... whatever floats your boat I guess!

That's not many languages for a Dutchman, normally people from there speak at least 4 languages...

I think you need to need to try harder Stuart

I speeka Inglish, Jerman, some Nederlaaaaands and some Franglais

SWMBO speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish.