The question is in the title.
Do you get to use the languages that you've learned?
Yes -- I learned English from a very early age, and get to use it every day.
I've learned bits and pieces of a few languages, really driven by interest or school curriculum rather than need. But to be honest, since I've never lived abroad, nearly every occasion I've had to use other languages it has been as a courtesy and an ice breaker, since the other people always speak better English or are desperate to use English instead.
The are a small number of situations in which I've really had to use other languages:
1) In France, I found French people mostly preferred French wherever I can muddle by.
2) In Ecuador, quite a lot of people only spoke Spanish or their native tongue (maybe Quechua, where I was), so I learned some Quechua as the ice breaker and used Spanish.
3) In Morrocco, in the Atlas mountains, villagers wanted to speak Arabic or French, not English, and so it was French with a smattering of Arabic ice breakers again.
In Holland, even though I tried really hard to speak Dutch, I never could get anyone to tolerate my (probably lame) attempts for long. "Better we speak English." every time.
Apologies for posting in English, but I'm not sure I could make myself understood since I've never become properly fluent in any other language.
The are a small number of situations in which I've really had to use other languages:
1) In France, I found French people mostly preferred French wherever I can muddle by.
2) In Ecuador, quite a lot of people only spoke Spanish or their native tongue (maybe Quechua, where I was), so I learned some Quechua as the ice breaker and used Spanish.
3) In Morrocco, in the Atlas mountains, villagers wanted to speak Arabic or French, not English, and so it was French with a smattering of Arabic ice breakers again.
In Holland, even though I tried really hard to speak Dutch, I never could get anyone to tolerate my (probably lame) attempts for long. "Better we speak English." every time.
Apologies for posting in English, but I'm not sure I could make myself understood since I've never become properly fluent in any other language.
Only passively to read/listen/watch the news on the internet, to read books, listen to music and watch films. English is the only one I use to write on webforums.