Whatever your background, learning a language can seem a daunting and difficult task. This can be rooted in bad memories of language learning at school. If you are of a certain age, definitely over 40, you might recall schooldays and trying to learn French or learn German through a mix of parrot fashion repetition exercises that consisted of disconnected sentences of debatable value in terms of real-life usefulness.
Another hindrance is the fact that for Brits, and other English native-speakers from pre-dominantly English-speaking countries, there is a prevailing ‘why bother’ attitude when it seems the rest of the world is feverishly busy learning English. Of course there are very good social, cultural and commercial reasons for doing so but language learning lethargy appears to be very deeply rooted in the UK.
In more recent years there has been a shift nationally for high school students to learn Spanish and to a lesser extent to learn Italian as well as or instead of the more traditional favourites of French and German. With this shift there is no doubt that methodology and learning theory has also moved on, resulting in more engaging and relevant lessons where you actually do speak the language and the whole experience is, dare I say it, fun! However research shows that people’s ability to speak another language confidently has still not significantly improved at high school and post secondary level education.
One significant way of breaking through this confidence/motivation problem is the environment that language learning takes place in. It can make a hugely positive impact on your language learning to have a ‘language holiday’ for 2 or 3 weeks in a country where your target language is spoken. This practice is common enough when it comes to learning English. In fact it has become a standard annual event for thousand upon thousand of parents in Europe and beyond to send their children to the UK in the summer, to attend English courses within international summer camps.
Still in its infancy when it comes to English speakers, there is nevertheless a burgeoning global language travel scene for people of all ages with available language courses all over the world offering wonderful opportunities to learn your chosen language in a country where that language is spoken. These courses often combine language study with activities of personal interest….so you can learn French and do some wine-tasting or learn Spanish along with flamenco dancing or learn German with golf.
In short, language travel can bring about lasting benefits in terms of boosting your confidence to speak a language and improve your motivation to further study that language.
