Perhaps it's a regional thing. In my experience the average Norwegians command of English, especially those <50, is superb; many times I've expected to have to explain some sublte nuance or shade of meaning to m'lady only to discover it unnecessary, or found myself thinking, That's precisely the word I'd use there, but not the one I'd expect a knowledgeable non-native speaker to use. I think that's probably true of much of Europe, with a few notable exceptions (I've heard the French are downright stubborn about not speaking English: ) About the only time I need explication is for the occasional idiom, and that's natural in any language because a lot of idioms make no literal sense (wtf is "raining cats and dogs" supposed to mean...? )