Looking to learn a language abroad? Whether you’re a language student or just keen to learn a new skill, living abroad gives you a great opportunity to brush up on your foreign language skills.
However, when thrown into a new country and environment, it can be incredibly easy to retreat into your shell and do the bare minimum to get by. During my first experience abroad, I spent a lot of my time in bed watching Netflix. I convinced myself that because I put on French subtitles, it counted as immersion. Whilst this is a great tool for language learning, it can’t be the only thing you do.
The time you spend abroad is an incredibly precious chance for you to develop your skills first-hand. So here are 5 tips for learning a language during your time abroad.
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Join a Club
If you have a hobby, then joining a club or a sports team can be a great way to improve your language skills. If you don’t, what a great chance to try something new! Not only will you be regularly communicating in your target language, you’ll also find friends who you can spend time with outside of club meetings.
In a university city, finding clubs associated with the university will be easy. In smaller towns, check out the local leisure or sports center. There’s always plenty going on.
Make Mistakes
One of the biggest barriers faced in language learning while studying abroad is being afraid to make mistakes. This can either stop you from going out and enjoying yourself, or you’ll revert to English whenever possible.
Once you realise how common and natural it is to make mistakes, you’ll find yourself much more confident when communicating. If your language is a little broken when you communicate it’s perfectly fine, as long as you make sure that you can get your point across. With practice, the accuracy will come, and it’s much more beneficial than not speaking the language at all.
Look out for Erasmus events
Even if you aren’t studying during your time abroad, chances are there will be an Erasmus Student Network (ESN) in your city. If you don’t know, ESN is a student organisation set up across Europe to support students living abroad. They’ll host a variety of events, and pretty regularly too. These can range from nights out, to language classes, to day trips and weekends away.
You’re sure to find an event that will suit you, and it’s such a great opportunity to explore your city and meet new people. You’ll likely find some English-speaking students, and whilst a familiar face can be really comforting, make sure you don’t spend the whole time speaking in English!
Check out their website here to find your local Erasmus Student Network.
Organise Conversation Classes
Just as you’re learning a language during your time
These meetings can be such an effective way to practice your language skills because you’re learning from a native speaker, but you can set all the rules and topics. Also, it will likely come at no cost, because you’re giving a service right back to them.
Say Yes
So your flatmate is hosting a dinner party and wants you to join? Say yes. Your new friend is going to hang out with his local friends and invites you? Say yes. Take advantage of every chance that comes your way. As long as you’re not blowing through your budget, meeting up with people and speaking in your target language can only be beneficial to you.
Of course, remember that your safety always comes first. Living abroad is all about stepping out of your comfort zone but make sure you don’t endanger yourself in any way.
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Such a useful and informative post. It’s a scary one but throwing yourself into it and accepting invites etc is definitely the way to go!
Oh, love those tips! Just say yes is the simple thing we all never do, isn’t it! Thanks for sharing Kirstie 🙂
Always wanted to learn a language when abroad! Loved these tips.
These are great tips! I definitely would love to learn a new language and master it. When I studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain, I lived in a city where barely anyone spoke English, so it was a great way for me to learn Spanish.
I think being ok with making mistakes is such a valuable lesson to learn.
I really need to get better at allowing myself to speak even if I make mistakes. It’s the one thing that keeps stopping me from improving my language skills.
This is great! I’m living in South Korea at the moment and I was determined to learn Korean (Hangul) while I’m here. It’s definitely not easy but it helps to force myself to at least try speaking what I do know when I’m talking to the locals. These are great tips!
Nice tips! I had never heard of ESN – sounds like a really cool program. Reading this makes me miss my study abroad experience in Italy!
Great tips! I’m Norwegian and I studied in NYC, so I didn’t get the chance to learn a new language since I learned English as a kid. But those tips apply well to that experience too – no better way to experience a foreign culture than to say yes 🙂