Traveling is one of the most fruitful sources of knowledge. The life lessons we learn on the road are unique and priceless. If you’re a language learner, one of the best investments you can make on your language-learning journey is to immerse yourself in your target language. Traveling to any destination can open doors for you to come across people from around the world and practice your languages. Besides this, think of all the opportunities you get when you’re in a foreign country and you know the language: meet locals, understand transport announcements, order food, have fewer chances to get scammed, etc. 

By the way, I thought you might want to read this!

https://langlittravel.wordpress.com/2020/07/20/sounding-as-authentic-as-possible-when-speaking-a-foreign-language/

Back to our topic, here is why and how you can learn languages while traveling:

Be curious

One thing is sure. Locals will always appreciate your effort to learn their language wherever you go. No one expects you to be fluent when you arrive in a new place. What matters is being curious and constantly learning. The experience one gets when knowing the local language and culture is extremely rewarding. 

Don’t switch to English

When locals switch to English, it may look like they’re losing patience because you’re butchering their language. Don’t get discouraged, keep using their language, and don’t be tempted to switch to English. In many places, locals themselves see an opportunity to practice their English with tourists. Try to create a win-win situation allowing both sides to benefit from the language exchange.

Expose yourself to the language

Congratulations, you’re now in the country where your target language is spoken. You might have studied it for years, so you think you’re prepared to hold a conversation with locals or understand the train announcements. The language you’ve only heard in podcasts or seen in textbooks is literally everywhere now. Read the signs, listen to people talking on the streets, and order food in the local language… but make sure to take advantage of every situation.

Perhaps you’re not even familiar with it at all, and it’s perfectly fine. Now it’s your time to get completely immersed in a new language. You have all the resources around you and one very important reason: to learn a new language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. 

Try to think in your target language

Now that you’ve exposed yourself to a new culture, you’ll most probably start thinking and/or dreaming in this language. This is a sign that, even though you may not be fluent yet, you are slowly but surely embracing the language as your own. Once you stop seeing yourself as a ‘foreigner’, you delete all the linguistic and cultural barriers you created in your mind when you first heard the language.

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