The art of speaking foreign languages

During my studies I repeatedly came across a sentence that in order to research a foreign ethnic group thoroughly, one has to speak its language; only then can one be able to fully understand their culture and way of life. It is especially important to know the language, because some words and features of languages differ so much that there’s no good translation for it. But even if you later don’t intend to write a doctorate on a certain culture, knowing the language is still very important - by doing so, you can communicate better with the locals, without anyone struggling with an unknown language. To put it simply, with the knowledge of the foreign language, we make it easier for ourselves to communicate while travelling. And with that I don’t mean only communicating with the locals, but also with other tourists from other countries.

Knowledge of foreign languages is our ticket to better getting to know the surroundings and people of a certain culture. For example, if we know the language, we will never be served a glass of juice, when we actually wanted to order a beer. We’ll connect with the locals who might invite us to spend some time with them. City orientation is also much easier if we know what’s written on the signs and if we know how to ask the passers-by for directions (of course we hope they’re locals, not just other tourists, who are as lost as we are).

Today most people, all the way from Nepal to Chile, learn English in school, so you can already do a lot with that. That’s especially the case with the younger generation, which makes it easier for us to find and make new friends. On the other hand, we have to go no further than to southern Italy, and English is already of no use to us, so we should really take advantage of how simple it is nowadays to learn a language - and for free, even. All you need to do is download an app, and knowledge is already available to you. However, the problem with mobile applications is that they don’t explain the language thoroughly enough. Another way you can go about it is through websites. Today I’d like to recommend to you Babbel. Babbel is an online platform where you can learn different languages. It contains various vocabulary and grammar lessons, all of which are especially tailored to beginners. It’s also great because they have special courses for brushing up on languages you once learned in school but since forgotten quite a bit about. Many of their content is free, and you can read the details at https://uk.babbel.com.

Of course, the easiest way to learn remains learning in a group, with the help of experiences speakers; just the fact that someone is there to remind us of the correct pronunciation of words is very helpful. Travellers don’t really need to know all the grammar rules, what’s important to them is that they can communicate. That is why Jezikovno mesto put together special travel language courses, where the emphasis is on oral communication with your fellow students and professors, and on modern materials which make learning fun. They also offer more in-depth and individual courses. So, after that, there will be no more embarrassment when you want traditional Argentinian dishes in the middle of Mar del Plata (Argentinian beach). The best thing about it is that if you own the HI card you get a discount on the courses. You can get a 5 EUR discount on the Travel Course, or a 20 EUR discount on a 40-hour course for any language. And there are even more discounts, quickly go check them out at here where everything is described in more detail.

Of course, we can also learn languages on the spot itself - what’s more fun for the locals than listening to our failed attempts to pronounce words in their native language. And when everything else fails, there’s always hand gestures you can rely on.