This post has been sitting in my drafts for almost 2 years! But, since I've been thinking about this topic lately, I thought it would be appropiate to post it...
I once read a post about language learners who have accents and were made fun of because of them, and I have to say that I’m proud of the courage those people have.
When I was in college I had friends and coworkers who spoke many different languages (Spanish, Chinese, and Khmer being some of them). It wasn’t until I was learning other languages (take ASL for example) that I realized how intimidating communicating with someone else in their native was.
I had an incident at a Deaf Church where I had to use ASL in order to figure out how to get into the church, and an incident where after the service ended, a Deaf patron tried to ask me how I was. It was awkward because I didn’t understand what she was signing to me, and I was sure that I was going to embarrass myself because I didn't have a solid grasp on the language. But to be honest, even though the experience was a bit intimidating in the moment, it’s still one of my fondest memories in ASL.
Similar to that experience, I had coworkers at my job (who weren't native English speakers) ask me for help, or sometimes try to say things in English with a heavy accent. I absolutely adored hearing them speak English and silently praised them for their effort. Despite making mistakes when speaking, they still tried to communicate with me in my language.
So, I applaud those who dare to speak another language to native speakers of whatever language they are learning. Despite their fears and reservations, they still dared to try. You might still have your problems and difficulties, but at least you are one step further on your language learning journey than some whom have never started it or wish they had the courage to.