It’s no secret that the most beautiful and unique experiences come from traveling. How to pick up new languages while traveling. Whether you’re traveling to Europe, Asia, Africa, or South America, one thing is clear—it’s important to know at least a little bit of the local language before your trip so you can communicate with the locals while you are there.
Fortunately, learning another language on the road isn’t as hard as it seems! Here are five tips to help you pick up the basics when you visit the next new city you travel to.
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Set Aside Time For Language Study
Learning a new language isn’t easy, so it helps to carve out time in your schedule for studying. Set aside one hour a day or three days a week—whichever is easier for you—and stick with it.
Try to give yourself enough of a routine so that you can start seeing progress but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. Before you know it, speaking another language will become second nature!
Begin Speaking As Soon As Possible
As soon as you arrive in a foreign country, start speaking. Even if you don’t understand what you’re saying, hearing yourself speak in a foreign language will help you improve your accent and expand your vocabulary. Plus, once your brain learns how to process one language, it becomes much easier for it to learn a second. And even if you make silly mistakes early on—well, what better way is there for people to see that you’re not from around here?
Practice Makes Perfect
Take advantage of your time abroad by immersing yourself in a language you’re trying to learn. If you’re planning on visiting family or friends in another country, try staying with them for as long as possible and going out with them as much as possible, so that you can practice your new language all day long.
Of course, you should still do things like go to museums and historical landmarks—these are things everyone should see!
Get A Language Buddy
If you find yourself in a country where English is spoken, but not fluently, try getting a language buddy. A language buddy will help you practice what you’ve learned. Just ask any native speaker for his or her phone number and start practicing.
If there aren’t many English speakers where you’re going, try finding someone who speaks your target language to learn from them instead.
Go To Events Where People Speak The Language You Want To Learn
Attend concerts, movies and meet-ups that are conducted in your desired language. Though it’s a bit obvious, you’d be surprised how easy it is to forget about these little communities when you are immersed in another one.
In a big city like Paris or New York, there will be people from all over the world speaking a variety of different languages. Get out there and try them all on for size!
Don’t Let Yourself Give Up
A lot of people give up on learning a language just because they don’t see quick results. Remember, it can take years for you to learn a language, so be patient and stick with it! If you want some encouragement, check out some free apps for learning languages: Duolingo and Babbel.
But if you prefer a more traditional method, try Rosetta Stone.
Recognize That Culture Plays A Role In Language Difficulty
Although there are several factors that influence how difficult a language is to learn, culture plays a huge role. When you travel and immerse yourself in a foreign culture, you open yourself up to learning about many new things at once: a whole new language, completely different customs and norms from your own, maybe even an entirely different way of doing business.
Have Fun While You’re At It!
Learning a language is easier than you think. With these five quick tips, you’ll be speaking your way around town in no time. You may even find yourself learning quicker and having more fun than when you were in school!
Here are some things to keep in mind:
Get Over Your Fear of Speaking: A big part of learning any language is getting over your fear of making mistakes. If you want to learn quickly, you have to get out there and practice with native speakers as much as possible.
The good news? They won’t know that you don’t speak their language very well—they just want someone to talk with!