I tutor 1:1 in a variety of subjects/ ages. I have a woman who is around 50 years old. She came her for college, started a business, has raised her children here. She is very bright and she still struggles with English. (1) English is based on Latin; Chinese and the Asian languages have NOTHING in common with English, including written letters, phonics - sounds of letters, idiomatic phrases. (2) The biggest challenge is with prepositions and idioms. For example, ON the table, UNDER the book - these have to do with placement. But then you have ABOUT the topic, UNDER the weather, INTO the night. These are not logical, just ‘that’s how we say it.’
We laugh and laugh. “Why do you pronounce it this way, when it is written this way?” I explain the roots - ‘oh, this is from Latin, that is French.’ She has no understanding of “Silent E’ or ‘sounding it out’ although we have reviewed it endlessly.
Regardless, she handles her business beautifully. She does recycling (something) with China, so her colleagues also struggle with English, whether they are here or in China. She gives speeches (which I help her edit); her kids, raised here, also help her.
Makes me really glad I learned English as a child. We have many Asian immigrants in Los Angeles, though. Your friend will do well - but he will never speak like a Native.
I also tutor her Admin, bc she is the one who writes most of the memos. This woman came here when she was 5, but she is not as bright nor compelled to learn as her boss. She has kids in high school, but she still doesn’t really grasp the past tense(s) and her prepositions are totally tangled. She kind of laughs it off when I correct her and I don’t see her really caring to grasp the intricacies.
These women have both been immersed here for 30 years, but their English skills are quite different.