Unreal expectation?

[purplehayes]

We've got a new guy at work and English isn't his 1st langauge. Far enough, not everyone is lucky enough to be born in this country. But, he still speaks with a pretty pronounced accent. What I'm wondering is, is it an unreal expectation for me to expect that some one who was lived in the US longer than I have been alive be able to speak English better than I?

Just curious.

PH

 

[ChrichtonsGirl]

It depends on how old you are.

There are ethnic communities where someone could spend 20 years and not have to speak a lick of English - so it's not surprising that someone could be here 20+ years and not have terrific English skills.

It's a shame, but not surprising.

*Edit to add - my former MIL was born and raised in Wisconsin. But her mother, who emigrated from Bohemia ten years before she married still spoke with a very thick accent, even though her English was terrific. Anyway, my former MIL occasionally speaks with that same accent, even though she's never been out of the country. She just picked it up from her mom's way of speaking. So perhaps accented English is what your coworker most often hears at home - he probably doesn't think he sounds all that bad.

 

[Amused]

When a language is learned as an adult, it is not the same as if it was learned as a child.

Most adults who learn a second language will never lose their accent, and will think in their first language most of the time.

Children, on the other hand will be able to think in both languages equally well, and swtich between accents without trouble. They then can carry that on to adulthood.

It's sad, but true. Once you pass a certain age, your brain just does not absrob languages as well as it could as a child.

 

[Shazam]

They should be able to speak and comprehend English as least as well as a person who was born here.

As an immigrant myself, it irks me to see people who are taking no effort in communicating in this continent's major language. Knowing the language is a vital component in giving yourself and your kids a better life - the main reason why people move over here in the first place.