Welcome to another week of Dear Duolingo, an advice column just for learners. Catch up on past installments here.
Hallöchen! I’m Kristin Bach, a Learning Design Intern at Duolingo. I have been working on our German courses this summer, and when I get back home to Berlin, I’ll be finishing up my masters in linguistics and German as a foreign language. But Berlin wasn’t always my home! I remember how it felt the very first time I set foot in Germany as an adult—and that's why I'm taking over this week's Dear Duolingo.
Our question this week:
I remember finally mustering up the courage to speak German, only to have my dreams shattered—or so I thought.
Is the person trying to passive aggressively tell you that your German is bad, or is it just an attempt to help you, while securing them more English practice!?
Being in a foreign culture and language can make it even harder to understand these situations, what they mean, and what to do. And it is definitely not specific to German! I've had this experience myself in Italian, Polish, Hindi and Chinese, too. If someone knows your language and wants to practice it, they'll jump at the chance.
So, should you switch languages, too? The answer isn’t straightforward… but here's what I've learned over years of (attempted) language practice!
What are they *really* trying to tell you?
It can feel like a failure to get a response in your first language after you've mustered the courage to speak in the new language, but the people are often coming from a good place!
They want to help you.
The person you spoke to can sense you’re nervous, so they think it’s helpful to switch, in order to help you achieve your goal–maybe buying a train ticket or getting directions–but little do they know that language learning is your one true goal! 🥲
They want to practice their languages, too!
You're not the only one eager to practice the language you've been studying. For example, a lot of Germans learned English in school and many of them enjoyed it! If they don’t get to practice it much, they'll be looking for opportunities.
Now, what should you do about it?
When to give in to the switch
Using the language you know best isn't giving up—sometimes it's the most practical thing to do!
Put safety first
Pick the language that will help you be most understood in situations where a misunderstanding could be bad or dangerous. Here are some examples:
- Explaining your symptoms to a doctor, pharmacist, or dentist
- Speaking with police or security who need to move fast
- Discussing allergies or dietary restrictions with restaurant staff
Avoid undue stress for other people
Consider whether sticking to the new language could create a problem for others, like when there is a long line behind you and you can't get the words out fast enough. That might be in the following places:
- Supermarket (Germans take grocery shopping really seriously!! Get in and get out!)
- Bank
- Loud events
When you should keep on keeping on
But if it's not a question of safety or stress… you might want to seize the moment for language practice!
Whether it's asking for directions when the other person doesn’t appear to be in a rush, meeting new people at a get-together, or ordering in a calm café, it might be worth the initial discomfort to ignore the language switch and keep practicing.
How to keep the conversation in your target language
Just don’t switch!
In most cases, I choose to just not switch to English. I stay in the target language and if the other person really wants to practice their English, then by all means! Either they'll switch back and you can have the whole conversation in your target language, or you'll have a truly bilingual conversation 😅
Prepare for the switch.
This was hard for me, especially in the beginning, so I practiced some key phrases for this exact situation. Nothing boosts your confidence like feeling prepared!
| English | German | |
|---|---|---|
| Informal | Let’s rather speak German. | Lass uns doch lieber Deutsch sprechen. |
| Formal | I would like to practice my German. Could we please speak German? | Ich möchte mein Deutsch üben. Könnten wir bitte auf Deutsch sprechen? |
Wait for the offer—and take the offer!
If someone asks you which language you would prefer, always respond with the target language, *in* the target language! So, I would say Deutsch! (German!) in this case.
Be honest with your preference.
Don’t say either language is fine. People almost always pick the language they want to practice if given the choice, so you should, too!
Stick with it!
These funny cultural situations are just part of language learning. You can’t learn a language without getting to know the people who speak that language! Remember that the switch is often the result of people wanting to be polite… so you switching to their better language, when the time is right, will be a welcome surprise.
For more answers to your language and practice questions, get in touch with us by emailing dearduolingo@duolingo.com.
