Excellent anecdote. I'm not sure if you're making a judgement about their behavior at the team event.
I'm an English native speaker, new in Germany, and learning German. I personally find it really annoying and awkward when other foreigners come into German social situations and expect or push them to speak English.
- What right do I have as the foreigner to intrude and get them to speak English?
- Social life in another language has it's own shared culture, jokes, and social cues. It's not fair or realistic to make people give that all up because some foreigner walked near the circle.
- It's my problem that I'm not yet fluent. It's not their problem that they're not speaking English.
- Some people are shy about their English skills, and they do not want to be pushed to speak English in front of others, in a group social setting.
- If you want exposure and practice, these are the golden opportunities! Take a humble learners position. Be quiet, understand as much as you can, and say what little bits you can, in German, not in English. Then study, study, study as much as you can in your time alone.
I hear fellow foreigners bemoaning the fact that they can't speak German yet, but these same people will inadvertently push English into every social situation they walk into. This just doesn't work. If you want to learn the language of the land, you have to let them speak it.
I find Germans are incredibly friendly and welcoming, especially when you come in humbly, trying to learn, and don't push everyone to speak English.