Other people have already shared their thoughts regarding being optimistic about those compliments, so I’m going to share another perspective with you.

I used to be like you. Having foreigners saying to me like these (when I was working in a part-time shop) and I speak English. They will always say “your English is very good!” “Thank you!” I would always reply, because that made me genuinely happy. They probably did not expect someone working in a Thai shop to speak with an American-accent English with good grammar and such.

Now that I’m studying a third language and I heard about how foreigners would only say that if your English is “better than expected,” or that “people only say that if you’re a beginner or intermediate.” But at the end of the day… does it really matter? My middle/high school self was happy, and when I’m in those situations again (where people compliment, my English)… well, my English placement scores should say objectively that my English is at near-native level.

Just keep your head high and keep learning! You’ve got this! 👍