Invisible influx

Could it be that us Brits are not easy to mix with?

We parted with smiles and handshakes, where I gave my first name and was left wondering, when they didn't offer their names, whether Poles generally prefer not to mix easily. I had previously met (last year) only a half dozen Poles locally, with only the one (a woman) being chatty.

The poles in britain are ONLY here for money, they dont care about culture or learning from other nationalities

The poles in britain are ONLY here for money, they dont care about culture or learning from other nationalities

Could it be that us Brits are not easy to mix with? I don't know, so please open up the can on this...

I may get shot down in flames when I say this, but it might help for foreigners to make the effort to speak English when they're shopping etc. It shows that they're happy to live here and want to make this their home, rather than create an enclave of their homeland.

How do you know these "foreigners" weren't born here? I was, and I speak both English and Polish everywhere, and I don't even have a foreign accent (or bad dress sense, haha) either. When I'm abroad, I speak Italian, Polish, Czech and French, though, lol.

When it comes to living in another country......

"When in Rome....."

"When in Rome....."

I think that putting too much pressure too soon for any minority to integrate might actually backfire. Take a step back a relax. Polish are not English and immigration process brings aditional stress and take sup a lot of energy in order to adjust to new demands. Immigration could be a big culture shock and it takes TIME.

Yes it takes TIME but people have to make the EFFORT.

...do like the English Costa expats do? ;)

Yes it takes TIME but people have to make the EFFORT.

To go to all the aggro and expense of moving so Spain just so that they can drink tea, eat bacon and eggs and talk like Peggy Mitchell.

why would you say tha they don't? I have experiance living in another country, that is why I said what I said. Have you ever lived in another country yourself?

I find this also quite hard to understand when they have young children in tow as it gives the impression, possibly wrongly, that they're not intending to teach their children English either.

And at least us Poles DO make the effort eventually... unlike some people I could mention.

lol

they only move there because there's "less facking foreigners rahnd 'ere innit" :D

Immigration could be a big culture shock and it takes TIME.

I agree with You in 100%. My English is really bad,but I'm not worried about my son's English. I don't teach my son,becouse I'm sure I would teach rubbish,but when he will go to school his english will be very good.I hope.Kids catch everything very quickly.

I apologise if what I am about to say sounds narrow minded,

It's almost as though they don't want people to know what they're saying and there seems very little effort to speak in English.

I find this also quite hard to understand when they have young children in tow as it gives the impression, possibly wrongly, that they're not intending to teach their children English either.

This might be true in some instances but there are other reasons for this. For instance it’s always easier to communicate in native tongue; the person you have conversation with might not speak English etc. I find this very amusing that the natives always think they are the subject of the conversation, it’s called "paranoia" get over it, you’re not a center of attention - trust me. Besides when you go on vacation to a foreign country do you have conversation with your mates in the native language when you go shopping? And are you talking about them?

Children do go to school and pick up language very quickly. Parents on the other hand might not speak English or are in the process of learning. So you suppose to be mute in the meantime? Why is it a big deal? Or a sign of not wanting to integrate? Rome was not built in one day, give it time.

If you really want to learn more about your neighbors or maybe have a conversation with them if they are foreign, my advice to you would be to start the conversation first. People who are learning language do not feel comfortable enough to strike a casual conversation and this way you will force them to make an effort. If you get ignored do not feel offended they might not speak English.

but when there is a feeling of being outnumbered by foreign speakers, it's disconcerting.

What I am saying though is that people need to take this much more seriously than they seem to at the moment.

I’m sure they do take it seriously. With such a large group of people moving in at once people tend to stick together in the beginning but eventually they will have enough confidence in their language abilities to integrate into the society as a whole. I have seen it before in the States. All it takes is Time.

Many don't want it to take time to get better, they want it to stop and for it to go back to how it was before.

I don't have any particular axe to grind with anyone, but it seems to me that it is the British who have had to sacrifice the most for the least gain.

If you feel that way, that’s even more of a reason to pressure your politicians to do something about it.

I hope I don't sound patronising, I just think you should both learn together :-)