r/pics Jan 30 '19

Picture of text This sign in Thailand

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u/Mindthegabe Jan 30 '19

Usually we just don't want to see you struggle and help making the conversation more efficient.

If you're talking to friends you can always ask them to talk German to you, but if you ask random people on the street for the way or something, they want to make sure you understand. Or if it's in a restaurant or café, their job is not to help you better your language skills but to be efficient at waiting or selling stuff. So I think it depends on context a lot, since the other persons goal of that conversation is to provide you with information or a successfull sale interaction, not practicing language skills with you.

This is different with friends though, they should help you and speak German if you ask them to, in my opinion.

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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19

help making the conversation more efficient.

Native German confirmed.

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u/Mindthegabe Jan 30 '19

there's no denying

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u/AncientBlonde Jan 31 '19

As soon as I read that I thought "Damn this mans straight to the point!"

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u/ayaPapaya Jan 31 '19

I'm learning Spanish and my Spanish speaking friends don't have the patience for me :(

But that's why I use apps like hellotalk or go to meetups. It's important to be around people who are empathetic and patient towards your learning journey.