>>17300604>i almost envy thatIt's that it'd be a novelty for you while it's kind of a necessity for an ESL who sits on the computer way too much. You wouldn't need to learn a second language to go through your day to day exactly as you want, so it's hard to get yourself to commit to it.
I feel like Americans kind of look at it like a party trick to be bilingual, more than anything else. Though it would be fun enough to be, don't get me wrong. Just that it's kind of a rare thing there because of that.
Also, I feel like it's not exactly for "free" when it comes to most people you would see anyhow. In order to comprehend and speak it well without having made any conscious commitment towards getting there, you pretty much have to be an internet addict from a young age, and you know all the side-effects that come with that kind of lifestyle. I probably serve a good example. I still wouldn't rather have it another way, but yeah, it's a big impact.
If you're not someone like that, then learning English is actually just as much of a thing people have to go out of their way for here as with whatever second language in the US. Even in modern times with people having their heads buried in the internet. Probably the farthest level of competence the average person who tries will get with it is how well someone over there can speak Spanish after taking high school classes for it.
There's also people who've delved enough into the internet to grasp shitty memes and stuff but couldn't actually hold a coherent conversation, and I guess that's like the hybrid of normal person and severe internet addict.
Though I'm just speaking for what I see here where I live. Might be different in someplace less shitty and where it matters more to know English. Seems to be the case for anything third world, though.
Charlim.
