How many germans speak english

So this includes how quickly expats feel at home, how friendly the locals are, how quickly expats make friends and how high the language barriers are. In the "Settling-In-Index", Germany actually romped into the "flop 10" in all four categories; making it one of the most challenging countries to get settled in. Let's walk you through this.

To pinpoint the root cause of this problem that expats find it difficult to settle in Germany, we have to tackle a basic question: Can Germans speak English at all? And vice versa: Can an English-speaking person survive in Germany without knowing German? The truth is, Germans do speak English. From the age of 5, it is an integral part of the school and British or American TV shows accompany teenagers' or adults' daily lives. So, on principle, every German should know at least a basic level of English and should be capable of making themselves understood in English.

Whereas the elderly had less access to English courses at school, young people under 40 ought to master English. Long story short: You can survive in Germany without knowing the German language; most Germans speak English, the train usually runs announcements in English and in restaurants or bars, waiters and waitresses often speak English, especially in the city center.

However, for those of you who plan to more than just survive in Germany, it's a good idea to attempt to learn German or at least acquire a basic knowledge of German to help you overcome the language barrier on your own. Check out these handy German language tips for beginners to get your German skills going! In everyday life in Germany, you'll soon realise that Germans certainly understand and speak English, yet are very reluctant to do so and prefer not to step out of their comfort zone to speak English.

Over the past few years, though, you can see that at least the younger generation has become increasingly confident in speaking English. But a glance at the professional world also shows that there has been a noticeable shift in attitudes towards language in recent years. After all, German companies rely on IT experts from abroad and are thus expanding their German-speaking talent pool to include English-speakers.

Today, long-established companies still find it somewhat difficult to create English-language jobs and integrate it in the company; the situation is different in Berlin, however, where start-ups have already recognised and embraced the added value of international employees.

And that's also why these international jobs and internships in Berlin are mirrored in everyday life, where you can hear English in every corner.

So you see: In Berlin, you'll be able to speak and work with people in English, while more traditional cities tend to struggle with English. The level of English spoken varies greatly from region to region or city to city. The universities in Germany are fully aware of the ongoing changes and in recent years have introduced more and more English-speaking degree programs. As a result, a growing number of international students come to Germany to study. As you can see, you can study at a university in Germany without any knowledge of German or with little knowledge of German and even work next to your studies!

Depending on what your aspirations are, whether you decide to stay in an "international bubble" or really want to immerse yourself in German student life, you might want to take your chance and learn German. Duolingo vs Babbel vs Lingoda: The review. It is estimated that there are approximately 4 million Turkish people living in Germany. However, the number of people who speak Turkish comes from a more diverse pool of nationalities.

Turkey is widely spoken in many communities in Southeastern Europe. Many members or descendants of these communities live in Germany. More recently Germany has welcomed a large number of refugees from Syria and Iraq who also speak Turkish. While these four languages are growing in popularity, there are several minority languages in Germany that are still in existence. Some of which are starting to die out. Low German, a West Germanic language spoken in the north of the country, while not very commonly known, has in fact 5 million native speakers.

Which is a lot when you compare that figure to the population of some countries. Upper and Lower Sorbian are spoken in Saxony and Brandenburg respectively. Only 0. Cologne — A wonderful and widely visited city, so English widely spoken in the main central and tourist areas. Outside the tourist areas and in the general population, English is far less common, not so prevalent as other cities like Munich. Locals also tend to be very welcoming and friendly.

Nothing to worry about as long as you have a few basic German words. Will get a reply in English the vast majority of the time here. Interestingly, for expats and longer term stays, the local administration in Dusseldorf also speak English, which makes setting up residency, paperwork etc. Most vending and ticket machines only in German though.

Stuttgart — A decent level of English is spoken — not the highest prevalence in Germany, but not the lowest either. As a bonus, for expats looking for work, a large number of international companies are based in Stuttgart, like Daimler, Porsche, Bosch, Mahle and Hewlett Packard.

It is totally possible to find jobs at these companies which require little or no spoken German and where spoken English will be common. If you are planning to stay in Germany longer term for work or an extended vacation then as with most other countries it is a good idea to learn some German to integrate a little more into the culture.

Germans do take a pride in their national culture and language and are increasingly expecting anyone who stays in Germany long term to learn the language.

In fact there was a story in the news a few years ago of one of the German Government ministers actually being upset that in his opinion too many Germans were speaking English in everyday life in restaurants and other places, with some of them having only a limited knowledge of German despite it being the primary language.

In addition anyone going there to work will ideally need to learn German. English may be widely spoken in some occupations but in others you will be expected to be able to converse in German. Classes are cheap and widely available and can be a great way to meet new people in the same position as well.

Therefore anyone staying in Germany for a longer period should learn some German. They will be very forgiving and accommodating for short term tourists but there will be an expectation that anyone living there for longer should try to learn the language.

As always we will provide some basic phrases in German which will help a tourist there get by when buying food or travelling around various locations. Italian is in many ways one of the most beautiful and flowing languages when we hear it spoken, but it is also not one of the easier ones to learn in my experience.