Challenges in Learning a Foreign Language · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Eileen from the blog Bearshapedsphere writes about language learning and how native speakers can sometimes be insulting or “diminish the value of good performance by minimizing the effort that’s put into [learning their language].”
I’ve been [in Chile] for almost nine years. And yes, I speak [Spanish] well (though I still have an accent, and always will). But remember those people who have been here for a while and don’t speak (by their own admission) super well? They get hassled for not trying hard enough. But me? For speaking well, I get told “well, you’ve been here a long time.”