When you start to learn a foreign language you will immediately find yourself looking for native speakers of that language to talk to. The trouble is that it can be very hard to tell where a person with a funny accent is really from.

If you make a mistake by talking in German to a person from Sweden, you really won’t make any friends. Here’s what you should do.

If you are talking to someone in English who has an accent you should say, “I like your accent, where are you from?” This is much more likely to get you an honest answer (and make you a friend) than simply asking “Where are you from?”

If you overhear someone talking in a language and you aren’t sure what language it is, you might try saying (with a friendly look on your face) “I like languages, what language were you speaking?” If they understand you they probably will answer politely and you may make a new friend.

When you learn a few disarming phrases, you will find that learning a new language will add layer upon layer of new happiness to your life.

If you like this article please link to:

http://language101.com/learn-any-language/friend-finding-phrases/

or e-mail this link to your friends.