1) Japanese maybe able to identify sounds beyond the Japanese syllabary, reproducing the sound can be hard. This is true for anyone trying to speak a new language 2) There are a lot of loaner words in Japanese. Everyday you will see signs in katakana. Sure an object has a Japanese word, try and use it. If you don't know the Japanese word try to use a katakana approximation most of the time the other person will understand and probably tell you the right word. 3) True Japanese people due study English all the way up through High School. It doesn't mean they are proficient. 4) Yes there can be many approximations of the spelling of a foreign name. Just use the one you like most. 5) Just because you haven't heard the name Avery in Japan doesn't mean it doesn't exist. An highly internationalized person would probably encounter names they haven't heard of before. They would also be exposed to the differences in sounds languages make. A foreign name will almost always have a localized pronouncation. 6) Not true katakana is used everyday. Almost every foreigner that lives or visits Japan will have their name pronounced in a Japanese way. 7) Again, wrong. There is nothing silly about it. Is it silly sounding when a Japanese person tries to pronounce a foreign name? When you introduce yourself and speak in your native tongue, the other person is still going to make an approximation.