Okay, a valid hypothesis, but I don't think it is actually the case. I learned English for 2 years with a teacher, and then via books, internet and video games. I certainly did have negative social experiences in Russian. But the comfortableness doesn't feel like being more light and effortless. More like more powerful, less unwieldy, more precise and compact. As a programmer, I often have the same set of feelings with programming languages, and I assure you, I wasn't bullied in school in C++.
Internet, books and video games don't produce lightness. You might feel powerful while playing a video game but you don't joke around.
The Toastmasters social enviroment on the other hand does produce that vibe.
When I was socially inconfident, I did very often choose English over German. As I personally got more confident I started using German with people who don't speak it (I'm living in Berlin, it happens) to have them tell me to switch to English.
...As a programmer, I often have the same set of feelings with programming languages, and I assure you, I w
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