Those who follow me know how important it is for me to know how to handle languages, especially if you make the decision to travel for long periods, and about this I wrote a post some time ago entitled: why it is important to speak languages for travel.
Generally speaking, I believe that if you speak English you have an advantage in a large part of the world, even in Latin America where, obviously, the national language is Spanish.
To this day I am proud to be able to say that I speak 3 languages fluently but I must also admit that I was never really inclined to learn them, nor in my time were languages given great importance as a school subject, so learning English at 27 years old it involved a greater effort than if I had studied it since I was 5. It is well known that the earlier you study it, the easier it will be to learn it, given the mental elasticity of children, in the same way, the more the years pass, the more difficult it will be to learn it. The effort will triple.
The gist of the speech and I will never tire of repeating it: We must learn languages otherwise we risk voluntarily excluding ourselves from many opportunities (for travel and life).
Now that with the internet we live in a truly globalized reality, not knowing how to speak it cuts you short before traveling or thinking about a transfer.
But what to do if you don’t have the opportunity to leave your city, move or take a few months “off” to immerse yourself in the culture of a country and learn its language?
So here are some ideas for learning a language while having fun (all personally tested by myself).
Read also: What if you don’t know the language?
Study courses abroad
These are experiences that many people have as kids during their summer holidays.
A month or more of school in an Anglo-Saxon country where you attend courses and live with your family, that’s right I’m talking about the famous study holidays in England with college or family.
It is proven that living in a country increases the chances of learning a language if it were not for the fact that we are forced to have certain types of interaction (on the bus, at the supermarket, etc.).
A study experience in Anglo-Saxon countries can pay more than a 2-hour course a week for a year, in particular, based on my past experience, living with a family makes a significant leap in quality in learning.
An interesting site that offers these trips is www.esl.it.
Language exchanges
I teach you and you teach me and we drink a beer in the meantime. There are many sites that allow these exchanges, especially in large cities where many Erasmus students want to integrate and at the same time learn the language of the country where they will study for a semester or a year. The couchsurfing site also allows you to organize these meetings and, the latest news, the Bed&Learn community which allows you to sleep for free as long as you teach something to whoever is hosting you.
Listening to music, looking for the lyrics, understanding them and singing them
The Beatles. A name for everyone. Not only because their music is still their music but also because the lyrics are simple, they sing clearly and even when washing the dishes or in the shower it’s fun to hum.
I know a girl who literally learned English thanks to her passion for music.
Watch films in the original language
Understanding, especially when learning a new language, is perhaps the most complicated step. I have always believed that speaking is one thing and listening is one thing. Taking me as an example. I answered the phone in English for the first time without having my heart beating in my throat for fear of not understanding anything after 1 year of living in London. Yes, 12 months.
Watching films in the original language can help you discover different accents (British doesn’t sound like American and Spanish doesn’t sound like Latin American), it trains the mind to force itself to listen and with subtitles it helps not to lose the thread of the film if you don’t understand some words and above all it helps to reconnect the pronunciation with the written word.
Read blogs in other languages on topics that interest you
Reading is important to understand how to write and obviously to progress in learning.
If we are learning Spanish it is not convenient to start with Love in the Time of Cholera (which is already complicated to follow in Italian…) but a productive way to do it without too much effort is to read blogs and sites that deal with a certain topic of interest to us and discover the language as it is spoken and written without any linguistic refinement as can happen in books.
It will take patience and a lot of good will, but once you have learned the first language, the second, third and fourth will no longer be scary, in fact they will become a great goal to achieve!
Practical advice for a cheap and effective English course
You don’t have time, you want to decide the lesson times and days, you want to do an intensive course and above all you want to do it from home without traveling too much. Speakly.eu it may be the right solution.
English lessons with certified teachers that take place only on Skype. 45 minute lessons at a cost of €9.95. An ideal English course for those who have little time but want to make the most of it.
Lessons and courses for all levels and all needs combined with the convenience of having a tutor available and dedicated entirely to you.
