Six ideal tips to learn a language when you travel all the time

29^th October 2019

The editorial unit

The editorial unit

29 October 2019

Travelling is among the most exciting things in the world. There are so many things you can explore while travelling the world. However, not everything is about having fun and relaxing. Travelling is a great way to learn new things and expand your worldview. In fact, you can learn a new language while travelling. 

Learning a language when you travel all the time can be very fulfilling. Here are ideal tips on how to learn a new language while travelling:

Take some lessons

Sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? How do you take lessons while on the move? 

With online tutoring, you can conveniently learn a new language on the move. It is very important to have a basic appreciation of grammar, structure, verbs and pronunciation rules. It helps you build a solid foundation. An online tutor will help you achieve this. For instance, you can learn English online while travelling with the help of an online tutor through skype. Travelling means spending a lot of time on planes, trains, cabs and buses. You can spend this time wisely by taking some online English lessons anywhere, anytime. 

Talk to locals

Speaking a new language can be nerve-wracking at first. We tend to worry too much about making mistakes. Of course, mistakes are bound to happen, but you shouldn’t worry too much about them. Travelling provides a perfect opportunity to talk to native speakers of a new language. It will improve your language skills hugely. 

Talking to people helps you to learn new phrases (local slang), words and get familiar with various accents. Speaking with locals makes learning a language is easier than you think. Natives appreciate your effort to learn their language and culture and will help you with it. This will build your confidence, and you will be more comfortable in future trips. 

Avoid your own language

You should only focus on the new language while travelling. This will help you learn the language fast. Avoid conversing in your native language as much as possible. 

If you can avoid places frequented by tourists and spend time in rural locations or small towns, there, you will be forced to only interact with locals which will help you pick up the local language fast. You should avoid your native language even in simple conversations like asking directions, ordering coffee or hanging out in social media. You should change the language settings on your social media accounts to match the language you are learning. 

Listen actively

Active listening requires concentration. It is easy to assume you are listening while you are not really paying attention to small but crucial details. Active listening involves paying close attention to pronunciation, repeated patterns and flow of sentences. Paying attention to these minor details will help you improve your understanding of the language. 

Don’t just listen, mimic what you hear. Mimicry or reflection of what you have heard helps in mental reinforcement of phrases and vocabulary. Put yourself in real-life situations and pay attention to the way locals are using the language and the tone of speakers in different situations. 

Watch movies and TV series

Watching movies and TV is a great way to learn a new language. Sounds exciting? However, you don’t just sit in front of your TV and expect to miraculously become fluent in Spanish after a few hours of watching Lacasa de Papel. 

Well, you just don’t watch a movie, you study it. 

To effectively learn a language by watching movies:

• Be focused – you can’t just passively watch a TV series and expect to master a new language. Study it and pay attention to every word that is said. 
• Turn on subtitles – subtitles can act as a perfect study aid. You can look for movies with subtitles in both your target language and native language. 
• Repeat – watching a movie once won’t be of much help. Like in school, if you have a study material, you have to study it several times.
• Break it into segments – if you watch an entire two-hour movie continuously, you are likely to slip into a passive watching mode. Your brain will not be able to absorb much. Break it into short segments, like 20 minutes segment or just one scene, for optimum language absorption.

Learn with language apps

Language apps are an exciting way to learn a new language. You can conveniently use your smartphone to learn a new language when you travel all the time. 

These are ideal tips on how to learn a new language while travelling. There’s no better time to master a new language than when immersed in that culture and surrounded by native speakers. Grab that chance and learn a new language when you travel.

The editorial unit