Are others shocked at your ability to speak a foreign language?

[True2marie]

Maybe it's the way I look, but people often are shocked that I speak a second language. They get taken aback and as a result as a lot of questions.

Does this happen to you?

[scribe_of_the_stars]

Yes, I'd first like Japanese coworkers were very impressed by the fact that I can speak Japanese, they were even more impressed when I told them that I spoke Spanish as well, in Japan polyglots are very rare.

[Trellum]

Well, some people seem to feel quite impressed when they find out I speak english quite well, but they look even more impressed the find out I learnt it on my own.  In my opinion that's not such a big thing. I learnt english on my own... it just happened.  I know it's weird, but it just did. 

I think it's even more impressive when you meet someone  who speaks more than 3 languages. Nothing impresses me most than a guy who can speak 5 languages Now that's something to shocked at.

[sidney]

My 2nd language is English, and here in the Philippines, it is widely used and spoken, so I never get that shocked look whenever I speak English. Maybe when I finally get to travel to the US, then I might get that shocked look when I finally speak English, who knows, right?

[lizbeth19hph]

My second language is English and others tell me I sound and write like a native speaker. They thought I have lived in the US or was born there, too. It's just that early on in preschool I was exposed to the English language and it has always been my favorite subject.

[Denis Hard]

Where I live it's not uncommon for someone to speak more than three languages. It's just that there are some many people from lots of different places living in small town so quite obviously kids just pick up most of the languages they hear and when they're grown up, they can speak several languages fluently. So in my case, no one gets shocked that I can speak a foreign language. It's the norm, where I live.