Language travel guide - Blog

Once upon a time, all men  on earth spoke the same language and understood each other. The day they started building a tower that will reach the heavens, God wanted to punish them of their pride and introduced many languages so that they can not understand each other and stop the project of the Babel Tower. Thus were born the different languages according to the legend. Today, learning another language can bring you closer to other people, understand them and their culture. As a result it is a knowledge that you can value both personally and professionally.However, it is often a long and difficult learning. It is important to start with courses of quality to get basic grammatical and vocabulary, but after a while, it is strongly recommended to visit the country in question to complete the learning. For this purpose I will speak now about the benefits of internships abroad.
First, as trainee, you can actually practice the target language with native speakers in the country. Being all the day surrounded by the language may seems hard and tiring at first but you will soon see results. Working in a company is also really good to become familiar with the economic environment of the country and to be open to another reality, to other ways of work than the one you can know.

Then, better as a simple road trip, an experience in business abroad will always look strong on your resume when searching for your next job. As a matter of fact, your experience abroad allow you both become familiar with another language and also develop new skills in the field of activity, skills you can easily use again in your next job.
As another advantage is the interaction with your colleagues. It is a simple way to get to know other people, build your network. Feel free to submit an teamevent at the end of a day in order to better know them. Building relationships is really important to live abroad because even with Skype and the other technologies, being alone will fast get you homesick and not enjoying your trip.
Finally, working in a country means to live there too. The every day life become then an adventure and a time to learn. Ideally, choose to live in community with a flatmate or in a residence. This will allow you to keep speaking your new language at the end of the day. You will also know new people, who would help you providing good advice for everyday life: where is the nearest store, what are the nice places for a concert or a glass, how work the local medical system? It can sometimes be intimidating and dangerous to live with people you do not know but it is something that we see more and more often. If you are not comfortable, do not hesitate to rent a vacation rental or a cottage for a few days / weeks. Casamundo.co.uk is the ideal website concerning accomodations in European destinations. This will give you time to visit your option, meet the people who leave there and make your choice knowingly – something sometimes difficult from your home thousands of kilometers away.
So go ahead. Companies love foreign trainees and this will be perfect to improve your language skills. This will also allow you to open your eyes to the world around you, discover new horizons and build your professional network

 

So, you know you want to study a language abroad and you have an idea of where you would like to do it. But what size of language school would best suit you?

Some cities will have schools of all different shapes and sizes. The experience you have at each type of school will be different and your ideal learning environment will depend on the kind of person you are.

Small language schools

Studying in a smaller school with 30 to 70 learners brings with it various advantages: a relaxed friendly environment, small classes and, often, teachers who have been with the school for a number of years. The disadvantages can include a smaller variety of courses, but if you know what you are looking for, this shouldn’t be a problem. At a small language school, you can get to know every student (if you want to).

Medium language schools

With 70 to 100 students, medium-sized language schools combine the advantages of small and large schools. They usually have good technical equipment, a wide range of activities on offer, many levels of classes, personal contact with the other students and staff while offering good flexibility.

Large language schools

Schools with 100 to 300 students offer courses at all levels and have a wide variety of nationalities from around the world. They usually benefit from a strong infrastructure and are used to dealing with learners from different countries. Large language schools are also likely to have the latest technical equipment.

Extra-large language schools

Schools with over 300 students offer a wide range of courses at all levels, often including specialist courses. There are likely to be students from all over the world, including from your own country. While this can make it easy to make friends, it can make it harder to practise the language you want to learn. On the plus side, extra-large schools can organize extra-large events.

At the teacher’s home

There is a growing trend for language classes at the home of the teacher. These are usually offered in small groups or one-to-one and have the added benefit of being completely tailor made. This is probably the fastest way to achieve fluency but you will miss out on the social elements you could enjoy at a language school.

 

When preparing for language studies abroad, making lists is a great way to ensure you bring everything you will need. Few days before your departure, don’t hesitate to go through it again and take into account our recommendations. It’s often what looks ordinary that you will miss the most once you’re in a foreign country!

Today we suggest you a list that go further than the usual “socks and raincoat” or “passport and ID” even if those remain essentials.

>> We’ll start with useful things you will need from the first week:

- A travel guide of the country you’re visiting. You certainly have already thought about that but don’t forget to also bring with you a detailed map of the city you’re going to stay in. It will be very helpful to get your bearings in the city streets on your first day.

- To feel confortable and relax, prepare the map at home, before your arrival, marking your accommodation, the school, the train station, the nearest supermarket, and information point of the city. And for those who like to go on adventure, don’t forget the compass!

- Small flashlight torch: a classic that will help you find your keys in the dark, at the end of the day during winter, when you come home.

- Telephone book, this small notebook, quite vintage, will enable you to save your phone numbers in case your mobile phone breaks down during the trip.

 

>>  Suggestions of presents for the host family members:

- The DVD of a film from your country (Elizabeth for England or Harry Potter, which story takes place in Britain). Your host family will appreciate watching it in the original version with you.

- For the children: English comics (Where’s Wally, Garfield etc.). Try to find them in the children’s native language to make their reading easier.

- A CD of an artist or a band from your country.

- Don’t forget also to bring with you a picture of your family or boyfriend/girlfriend. Indeed, in many countries like Japan or Colombia, families really appreciate that kind of attention.

- Avoid bringing food with you. It could be a good idea but you will have problems with customs at your arrival in the host country.

>> If you still have some room left in your suitcase, try to bring with you small presents for the friends you will meet during your language stay, and which will celebrate their birthday there. To offer something from your own country when you’re travelling abroad is a very pleasant idea (goodies of your town: key holders, branded fabric bags, post-cards, t-shirts etc.)

 

>> Key holder. Big enough to avoid losing the accommodation keys you’ll get from the student house or the host family your staying at.

 

>> Electronics and I-TECH

- Alarm! During your language courses abroad, it’s inadvisable to arrive late in class. So why not slip into your suitcase a small alarm? It could save your day!

- An automatic message. The auto-responder on your e-mail account will inform, anytime, your friends and professional relations of your travel, in case that you couldn’t access a connection the first days of your stay.

- Unlocked mobile phone. Forget the IPhone and other locked Smartphones. Make sure you bring with you a mobile phone that accepts all sim cards!

- For you language trip, subscribe to TEP, the mobile communications company that enable you to call your native country from abroad and only pay local rates!

- Two USB keys, very useful to share documents or films with your friends, as well as to save the pictures you’ll take there.

 

>> Culture and leisure

- Consider buying a book in the foreign language you’re going to study. There is nothing better than reading to learn new vocabulary and improve your grammar. And if you don’t want to look into the dictionary every time you don’t understand a word, try to start reading a story that you already know, or that was adapted into a film: Up in the air, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Twilight (very recommended for beginners!)

- 2 or 3 recipes of typical dishes from your country. To get closer to the others and create good relationships, there is nothing better than cooking once for your host family or to organise a “cooking around the world” buffet party in the student house. A dessert, for example, will be to everyone’s taste!

- Card game (or a pocket version of UNO) is the universal activity that everyone can play on public transport or during parties.

 

>> Health care

- A prescription of your medicine and pills. Also think to print their composition because it is possible that your medicine name doesn’t exist in the host country but the pharmacist will be nice enough to find you the equivalent product or its generic medication.

- Pills against upset stomach because even in the healthiest environment, sometimes our body have difficulties in adapting to the new country’s culture.

- Sunscreen cream, depending on your destination.

- Earplugs because all of you are not going to chose the single room option.

- Sewing kit, because all of us once have torn a shirt or lost a button of our jacket.

- Swiss army knife for multi-uses. However, be careful not to keep it in your hand luggage but in your hold suitcase when traveling!

>> Last advice to conclude this list for a total immersion abroad: avoid over packing your suitcase, because anyway, you are obviously going to buy many things on site, and we all know that shopping in a foreign country is a must!

If you also have some advices to give before a departure, don’t hesitate to post a comment and to complete this non-exhaustive list by sharing your personal experience.

 

A very good trip to all of you!

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and learn a language overseas. Congratulations… a study abroad trip is like a traditional holiday but with a whole range of extra benefits, including learning a language, making friends and discovering a culture in a way that you simply wouldn’t get on a normal tourist trip.

The next step is naturally to choose where you would like to go. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when choosing a destination for your trip.

What language do you want to learn?

This is the biggie.

If you want to learn Spanish, you can choose between Spain and a huge variety of destinations in Latin America, from Mexican beach resorts to Argentinean ski resorts.

You can learn French in France or Switzerland, but had you considered Guadeloupe? Learning Portuguese in Portugal is a great way to discover Europe’s most westerly country, but how about Brazil as an alternative?

A factor that will affect your decision is…

How long can you stay?

The further from home you travel, the longer you should stay. This is for a number of reasons.

Firstly, if you are flying to South America from Europe, the flights will take anywhere from ten to fourteen hours in each direction. For a two week stay, that is a lot of time in the air and a large carbon footprint.

Secondly, there is the cost. Travelling to far off destinations will set you back more for flights, but once you arrive you will probably save money due to a lower cost of living.

Finally, think about the experience… a short stay on the other side of the world will whet your appetite. You will make new friends, just start to become truly immersed in the culture and then leave.

When do you want to go?

Remember summer in the northern hemisphere is winter in the southern hemisphere and vice versa. If you are heading to Asia you should also be aware of the Monsoon seasons. If you want to study in popular tourist cities, late spring and early autumn are usually less busy than the peak summer months.

Do your research before leaving… there’s a wealth of information just a click away.

What is really important to you?

Your destination will depend on what really matters to you. For example, if you are passionate about ecology and want to learn Spanish, Costa Rica may be a more interesting destination for you than landlocked Madrid. If you like late nights and nightclubs, Buenos Aires is hard to beat, whereas Nerja on the Costa del Sol is gloriously sleepy.

On the other side of that coin, you may have to put up with power cuts in Costa Rica and life in Buenos Aires is “edgier” than in Andalucía. It all boils down to your personal needs and wishes.

What is your budget?

You need to consider budgets when planning your trip. Typically, the further you travel, the more you will spend on flights to get there. But if you are travelling to Latin America, for example, the cost of living will be significantly lower than in Europe or the United States, so the expense balances itself out over time.

In some destinations, you may be able to find work. If you are a native English speaker, this could involve teaching English, which generally pays well compared to other local jobs.

Bear in mind there will be additional costs on top of the price of your course, accommodation and transport. For example, you will need good health and travel insurance in case anything should go wrong when you are away. You will need to pack some rainy day money in case something takes your fancy, such as a day of diving, a particularly splendid set of bongos or perhaps someone special!

 

From the butterflies in your stomach before you arrive to the tearful goodbyes on your last day, a language study trip is an incredible experience for both heart and mind. You will make friends, explore new cultures and, of course, develop language skills that will make you more employable (and attractive).

Stimulating

Photo: alles-schlumpf

Learning a language is good for the brain. Children who are raised bilingual enjoy cognitive benefits (see this PDF) that help them excel in more than just language learning. But it’s not just kids that benefit from language learning.

Studying overseas will make you think on your feet, improvise when necessary and try new things. When you are in conversation with someone who doesn’t speak English (yes, there are plenty out there), you will find yourself having to describe words that you don’t know. Like playing charades, you will have to think quickly and creatively. It’s good for your language skills and it’s good for you!

But beyond just learning the language, seeing new sights, meeting new people, tasting new flavours and sampling another way of life can be incredibly stimulating. It’s no coincidence that most prolific writers (Byron, Wilde, Borges and many more) are also prolific travellers.

Challenging

Photo: Tambako the Jaguar

It takes guts to leave your everyday life at home and head overseas to learn a language. Especially if you have very little knowledge of the local language, the first days may be tough. But then you will start to understand what is being said and be able to engage in conversation. And that is a unique feeling.

Things that you take for granted in your everyday life may well work differently overseas. Usually, the further you go, the more different things are, but this is not always the case. For example, Austria and Italy are two neighbouring countries with very different cultures, while England and Australia are on opposite sides of the world but share many cultural similarities.

Meeting new people is a big part of the experience. At your language school you will be grouped with people who speak a similar level of the language you are there to learn, so you will progress together. While it’s easier said than done, you should try and spend as much time as possible with people who don’t speak your mother tongue as you will make faster progress in your new language.

Facing and overcoming challenges (linguistic and cultural) is a hugely rewarding part of any language study trip.

Rewarding

There will be moments moments where you take a step back and think to yourself: “this is just amazing”, whether it is watching the sunrise on a tropical beach, enjoying the view from the top of a mountain or when you have just successfully chatted someone up in a foreign language for the first time!

On an academic level, if you learn a European language like French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese or Italian as an English native speaker, one of the most enjoyable things can be seeing how these diverse languages relate to English. Especially with French and the Germanic languages – those that directly influenced English – you will make connections and can appreciate the depth of your own language while learning a new one.

Learning a language can be rewarding in other ways too. You can read the papers, watch movies and listen to music in another language. You will make new friends with whom you can practice the language. You will be more employable as a result of your improved language skills. Any you will have some interesting stories to tell your friends back home.

Fun

Learning a language overseas is more fun than learning it at home. Classroom time may be fairly similar (although you will almost certainly be learning from a native speaker, which is not true at home), but your time outside the classroom will be much more varied… if you want it to be.

Language schools run activity programs that help students make the most of the location. In big cities, this will usually include trips to the museums, galleries, theatres, concerts, nightclubs and sporting events. In smaller towns, you will often find an emphasis on sporting activities that allow you to enjoy the natural environment.

Because language schools are social environments, you will get plenty of tips from people that you meet. You should also never be afraid to ask the staff, many of whom will be local and able to give you insider tips.

Learning a language abroad means you can combine a holiday with personal development. How you choose you use your language skills is up to you, but one thing is for sure: you won’t regret your trip.