There is no better excuse for learning another language than travel. Fortunately, you can easily learn another lan
guage while traveling without taking a linguistic course. And learning another language makes communicating and interacting with the people that you meet while traveling easier.
Here are travel tips that make learning another language easier:
- Practice Active Listening
- Go to Travel Destinations Where People Speak a Different Language
- Practice the Language
- Interact with the Locals
- Take Lessons.
Active listening is not easy. It requires careful concentration and sustained listening. Nevertheless, active listening is important to learning a new, foreign language. Listening closely enables you to learn the basics of phrases, vocabulary, and repeated speaking patterns. On recognizing familiar words, trying them out becomes easier.
The need to communicate with people that speak a different language necessitates learning it. For instance, when you stay in a hostel where everybody speaks a different language, learning it becomes necessary. Necessity becomes your motivator to learn how to communicate in that language. Therefore, choose a destination where people speak a different language and you will definitely learn to speak it.
Try to speak the language that you are learning. For instance, listen to music in that language or conversations and mimic singers or speakers. You can also talk to people that speak that language in online meet up groups. This will enable you to practice the language even before you travel.
To speak a new language like its native speakers, you must mimic how they speak. Therefore, hang out with the locals whenever you travel and hold conversations with them. For instance, have a drink at a local joint and talk to the locals. This will limit self-consciousness that may arise from making mistakes. It will also make you more outgoing and even help you make new friends.
Taking a few lessons of the language that you want to learn is a form of formal study. It gives you a basic appreciation of the grammar, structure, pronunciation, and verbs rules that build the language that you want to learn. You can take lessons at a local school or take an online course.
Alternatively, download audio programs or podcasts to attune your ears to hearing the foreign language. This will ensure that the language that you want to learn doesn’t sound foreign once you hear it for the first time.
Regardless of your travel destination, it’s wise to learn the language of the locals that you meet and interact with. When people realize that you can or want to speak their language, they will be more welcoming and friendly.
