jap i think music1 got the point :). that s a pretty good topic for a discussion. the answer is not simple. you can see it through many eyes. someone with a "higher" social status may for sure use other words as someone at "lower" social status. anyway i don´t like to talk about social statuses in that way. when you learn a language, it depends on your motivation, how good you are learning it or not. and for me your motivation depends therefor somehow on your social status. are your parents having an international company, you maybe wanna follow your dad or mom as chief of the company and you d need f.e. english as a international business language. if you are born into a "normal" family, where "normal" reflects a big range of social statuses, you may consider learning a foreign language for your own advantage to have better chances for getting jobs or going to university. of course you can have foreign friends, which is in my eyes quiet cool and is also an advantage. it s always good to have contacts all over the world. and it s even cooler, when you see or meet your contact more often. But in general i have to agree to music1. someone who starts, has to prove his skills. and that shows of his or her intelligence in the widest way. somebody who is not afraid to begin, is willing to learn from failures and stuff. and the other person has to think, wether he or she wants to show that he or she can speak english or really wanna have contact. in their neighborhood circumstance, in their school, in their workplace etc: sure, you talk to everybody in a different way, and you talk another way to teachers as to friends or work-collegues. but in a way you have your skills and your way to speak a language in every situation in a similiar way. i hope that s somehow what you were expecting *g*

in my opinion the one that made it is pretty reserved, the ones that talk first have to proof their skills :) is it that what u mean?