Let’s face it, us Brits aren’t known for our foreign language skills. When abroad, we often expect the locals to speak English (and complain when they don’t) but it never occurs to us to actually learn a language prior to a holiday. We just like to speak VERY LOUDLY.
Some of this is down to the difficulty of the language. Greece, for example, is a popular destination with Brits but Greek is a nightmare to learn. Beyond “kalimera” and “kalispera”, you haven’t really got a chance unless you dedicate time and effort to making yourself understood. Greek is considered one of the hardest languages to learn in the world alongside Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, and Icelandic so let’s start somewhere easier.
France and Spain are two of the most visited countries in the world. Whilst many locals speak English, being fluent in one of these languages would be very handy. But what’s the best way to learn the lingo?
Live there
Total immersion is the key here. If you live in France or Spain and don’t speak to English people, you have to learn the language otherwise you’ll be known as “the weird English person who doesn’t make an effort” (or “la personne Anglais bizarre qui ne fait pas un effort”).
Language immersion forces you to speak the language but without tuition or assistance, progress is slow. I tried this method when I lived in France and I went backwards as I felt I should be better than I was after a few months. This leads me on to CD’s/listen & repeat techniques.
CD’s
People such as Michel Thomas really changed how we learn languages when he developed his technique for teaching. The Michel Thomas Method is based on not making notes or trying to remember. Yep, don’t try and remember when learning is the key here and it works. The French and Spanish recordings feature Thomas himself teaching two students who you learn with in real time allowing you to challenge yourself against your two “classmates”.
Flash cards
Anki is a free memorisation program that allows you to download pre-made decks of flash cards with the most common and important words of your chosen language. They can be used either on your computer or smartphone.
The “spaced repetition system” repeats flash cards at the moment it thinks you’re about to forget them meaning you constantly refresh and memorise. The cards are customisable, and you can alter the colour or add pictures or audio to them.
Pocket phrasebooks
I know, they’re usually keen to teach you the German for “excuse me, can I request a wakeup call at 3:15pm?” or “can you direct me to the nearest pharmacist, I have a fungal infection” but they can be handy.
Berlitz are or Collins are popular choices but The Rough Guide dictionary phrasebooks are well worth a look. Easily digestible with emphasis on pronunciation and accents, the eBooks even allow you to listen to audio clips to help get the pronunciation spot on.
TIP: If you’re relying on reading and repeating until the vocab sticks, try singing the words instead of simply reading them.
Apps
There are a number of excellent language learning apps available these days and one of the most popular is Duolingo (available on both Apple and Android). It awards points for correct answers which makes learning fun whilst the user learns through repetition. Lessons increase in difficulty as you become more proficient and only uses the most popular tenses which helps keep things simple.
Are you a polyglot or bi-lingual?
If you’re great at languages, let us know your tips below and help your fellow travellers learn a new language. Alternatively, check out these useful phrases to learn before your next holiday.
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