Two things I think here BBTCS. Firstly, while Dale's education would have been very basic, you would anticipate being able to learn the vernacular in a foreign country to get by in life if nothing else. In that sense, a lot of German people speaking English probably does not help him to become a local. Secondly, I think a lot of Europeans speak English because it is important to do so being the world language. I recall from my own school days long ago there was never a huge incentive to learn French or German, unless you had a particular liking or aptitude for it (I did not!) as the world spoke English!!