How To Learn A New Language While Traveling

The urgent problem of humanity – how to travel without knowing a foreign language? Yes, someone uses knowledge from school or university. But, as a rule, this knowledge is enough only for greetings and thanks.

How to communicate with foreigners? But what if you want to travel and it is already on your nose. There is no time at home to learn the language? It is the easiest thing to think about when planning a trip.

But even here, there is a way out! In this article, I will only talk about my impressions of studying at school. It has been going on for a little, a lot, one year with a penny.

Spanish somehow passed me by at school and university because we were learning German. So far, I haven’t found a use for learning German, aside from constantly telling a nursery rhyme about winter when someone asks about my language knowledge. Even this unfortunate verse will be forgotten when I get to Germany and Austria.

Spanish is used all over the world. Since Spanish is used in many different countries, you will likely find it helpful in many situations related to travel. Your hotel staff may not speak your native language, but they will probably be able to speak some Spanish. Many signs at airports and popular tourist sites will be in the local language and Spanish, so it’s good to know if you don’t speak the local language.

Read More: How To Support Student Learning

Knowing Spanish can help in an emergency. If you find yourself in an emergency, Spanish can save your life. My Sri Lankan friend travelled to Nepal in April 2015 when an earthquake hit. After the quake, he could not find his wife and began to turn to people in Spanish asking for help in finding her. A few days later, he finally found her and wrote a letter of thanks to everyone who helped him.

If this happens abroad, the ability to speak Spanish is essential to communicate all the details correctly. I hope nothing like this happens to you, but it’s better to be prepared for anything.

In addition, learning Spanish will add to your confidence. When checking into a hotel or at an international conference, knowing Spanish will make you less shy and lessen your anxiety.

It will be easier for you to make friends, share your ideas and have a stress-free vacation. Learning Spanish for travel will help you better understand the world around you and open up new opportunities.

How Travelers Can Practice Spanish Before Traveling

Here are some helpful tips and fun ways to practice Spanish that will come in handy when you travel.

Tips for Learning New Spanish Words

You can try to learn as many new words as quickly as possible, but take your time. Start with five to ten new words a day and know them well.

Use lists of words that will be most useful for travelling, like this one.

Write your 5-10 daily words on cards, with a definition (or picture) on the back.

Review these cards throughout the day. Take them with you to work and place them around the house in conspicuous places.

When you see a card, make a sentence with this word, but it must be something you can say while travelling. Say the sentence out loud. For example, for the term “queen bed” (double bed), you can say: “I’d like to book a queen bed for three nights, please” (“I want to book a room with a double bed for three nights”). (Note: the queen bed can comfortably accommodate two people). Oral (speech) practice is beneficial.

If you are travelling in a company, play role-playing games. Act out typical travel situations (checking into a hotel, at the airport, how to ask for directions) while using your new words.

These tips will help you remember the new words you’ll need on your travels.

You may already have a Spanish practice app on your iPhone or Android device, but we want to recommend five more apps to help you organize and enjoy your trips. Download them before you leave and take them with you! This is how you can master a new language while travelling.