In Germany, it's assumed, that everybody with a good education is able to speak English. In fact, for some decades now, pupils learn English pretty early in school. That means: If they aren't as stupid as I was. One year, I made a challenge to pass the English class without speaking one English word. I succeded by answering a lot of questions, we were allowed to answer in German. I got an average grade for my participation and learned almost no English.
But if a lot of people of my age have only a basic knowledge of the language, the reason is different: It wasn't so easy to immerse oneself. When I was at school, there were no YouTube-Channels, no Netflix and I never heard about the possibility to read the New York Times online. So most of us left school as intermediate English-Speakers and the knowledge of the language declined the years after, if one needn't speak or read English.
During my studies I sometimes had to read English texts, so I kept my level of understanding the language. But since my emphases lay on German history and politics, I didn't really improve my English over the years. I felt bad about it, because I assumed, that everybody besides myself were able to speak it fluently - and at my workplace, this is indeed true. I started to avoid situations, where I could get into the situation to have to speak English. That didn't feel good, of cause. But at the same time, I dared not to admit my lack of knowledge and take lessons, because than I would have to admit, that I wasn't able to speak English like all the others. Only after some years, when it became easier to watch movies and series in the orignial language, my English improved by just watching it. After a while, I realised, that it felt easier to understand it and I got the feeling, that I could at the end learn English. I started to learn vocabulary and as one could expect, my understanding improved a lot. Nowadays I read English texts without hesitation, even if I'm still a bit slow. And I'm still watching TV-Shows and Movies in English. So I'm quite satisfied with my passive English skills. But since I didn't need the language in my daily life, I'm still struggeling with speaking and writing. I think both of it is well enough for the everyday use, but I want to be able to talk and write about difficult, scientific things, too. Maybe, this side can help me, to establish a broader and a more sophisticated vocabulary. I'm looking forward to it.
This is really well written - well done! Speaking is the hardest part for me when learning languages too. I'm glad watching movies and series helped you become comfortable with the language. It's amazing how much we can learn that way! :)
Wow, you writing about the shame is something I recognize. I’m from The Netherlands and was able to watch German TV. Those days we only had 2 TV channels The Netherlands 1 and German 1. That’s how I learned to understand German quite better. All the Hollywood movies who were in English were synchronized or dubbed to the German language. I have lived near the German border and thanks to German TV I was able to go for groceries and speak German, not as a native German of course. When I have a conversation with a native English speaking person, it’s okay. They understand I’m Dutch and it isn’t my native language as long as we understand each other. I can read English and am writing with a person who is on death row in the USA. The shame is too afraid to write on social media and being judged by people of my own country.
You're doing so well, keep writing, keep learning!
Your writing is really good, you already have a great grasp of vocabulary, keep it up!