tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29874674.post6473020255870560153..comments2023-10-22T08:22:22.325-04:00Comments on Almost American: Learn to speak English, why doncha?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29874674.post-65455528991459784402009-07-19T05:49:13.404-04:002009-07-19T05:49:13.404-04:00Just found your blog. We lived in Tanzania for 3 ...Just found your blog. We lived in Tanzania for 3 years where our work required us to speak the langauge which was pretty easy to learn.<br /><br />Now we live in Beijing and our work is all in English and we spent our first year knowing NO Chinese. It is a huge hindrance. You do learn a lot about a culture by the way langauge is structured; however, as expats who have a lot of the beauracratic crap done for us, I have developed a whoe new set of skills that I see alot of people using--those who transfer every 2 years who have to know how to move in, set up, and get started living quickly, but who won't be here long enough to learn much of the language.<br /><br />But being very fluent conversationally is not the same as being proficient in technical areas. Certainly navigating any sort of governmental red tape would be beyond that conversational level. <br /><br />As an American I think people should be required to demonstrate a level of proficiency after a certain # of years in the US. You are more self-sufficient, more productive, and more involved if you speak the langauge of your host country. For highly educated immigrants, learning English comes faster than for those who have had little or nor education in their home countries. I think after 5 years or so, though, a certain level of proficiency should be expected.Mama Avahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16582791527980958931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29874674.post-72358113710484445672008-12-07T08:42:00.000-05:002008-12-07T08:42:00.000-05:00As a young adult, I never understood the problems ...As a young adult, I never understood the problems of immigrants until I became one myself. I managed to learn some French in the first few years, but never have been able to master Arabic. Now I know what it feels like to be illiterate.<BR/><BR/>Expat21<BR/>Expat Abroad<BR/>expat21.wordpress.comUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00113963137854615457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29874674.post-18976917765297752072008-10-11T09:55:00.000-04:002008-10-11T09:55:00.000-04:00When you are finding your way through an unfamilia...When you are finding your way through an unfamiliar system of bureaucracy (like your friend with her child), there is quite often a whole new language to learn, even if you are speaking in your mother tongue. It must be a nightmare if you are already operating in a foreign language.Iota https://www.blogger.com/profile/08507184283437057648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29874674.post-48866026874498886912008-10-10T13:00:00.000-04:002008-10-10T13:00:00.000-04:00I don't think I could live in a country, if I coul...I don't think I could live in a country, if I couldn't speak the language. I would make a point of learning it first before I emigrated. Even when I go on a short holiday - to wherever it is - I make a point of learning as much as I can, so I can say please, thank you and count up to 100.ADDYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01018958238940897902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29874674.post-11386391855681706362008-10-10T07:34:00.000-04:002008-10-10T07:34:00.000-04:00Having a reasonable flair for accents and dialects...Having a reasonable flair for accents and dialects, I used to think I would be able to pick up a foreign language without too much trouble. Until I attended Spanish classes (in anticpation of future holidays), that is. I tried my Spanish out on our next holiday but, man, they weren't speaking it properly in the Costa Del Sol? I think it takes time and you need to live there, among them (whoever they are), just to occasionally pass the time of day with the locals.Stinking Billyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13577508577062044906noreply@blogger.com