My english accent is a curse, and even if i manage to mask it, it’s the way i form sentences that has an english influence. And even if people don’t pay too much attention, my bright blue USA passport gives it away. Maybe it’s also something about the way i look or carry myself.
No matter where i go or what language i try to learn people always switch to english with me. They always say “but i have no chance to practice english with a native speaker!” this happens to me in nearly every interaction, no matter how superficial or deep. Switching to english happens of course in 99% of service interactions which i have come to terms with, but it happens also in any new relationship i create whether it’s at work, with new friends, with other students, with people i meet at the bus stop, with new tinder dates, with roommates and landlords and people who come to fix my elevator or stove, people cutting my hair. The other day someone at the optometrist even decided to loudly give me the price in english rather than the local language even though the price was listed on the screen and i could clearly see it.
I always tell them i prefer not to speak english but it’s exhausting that it’s every single day, multiple times a day. I wish i was exaggerating but it’s like i moved to this new country and got a job and worked on the local language just to be a free english tutor or practice opportunity to the locals rather than getting any immersion. The funny thing is i’m not even good at english, i just have a strong english accent (i moved to the states when i was 10)
People say “just work on your accent,” and while i am working on doing that, i think it is kind of naive and foolish to believe you can just magically sound like a native speaker in every language you learn. I am an adult learner and will likely never ever pass as a native even if i reach C2 in all my languages and it never stops even though i have a C1 in the local language where i currently live. If people sense a hint of a non-native accent they will switch if they are able to and that’s nearly everyone i encounter.
I’ve heard this is a plight that happens to english native speakers in many countries around the world. Is it truly inevitable or is there a way to make it stop happening?
What should i do? Should i just accept that it’s my fate?
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via Learn Online English Speaking
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