Travel and languages go together hand in hand. But sometimes, you can start a trip feeling unprepared, not enjoy it while you’re there because of your language skills, and leave feeling disappointed. Boo! In this article, I’ll share some tips with you to make the most of travel for language learning.

Learn Only The Basics of What You Think You Need

This one applies in particular when you’re pretty new to a language.

Most of our typical interactions when travelling are service interactions – food, accommodation, transport.

The people working in these situations are busy, want to serve you quickly, and aren’t often there to teach you or patiently let you practice that language.

This means that rather than learning aaaaalll the phrases for these sort of situations, you’re much better off to learn the key things that will get you through these interactions.

It’ll look a little something like this:

Hello
Thank you
Please
One (or however many numbers you’ll be buying of things, depending on how many people you’re travelling with)

…that’s it. You can go a little further here but most of your focus is best spend on…

Learn Relevant Conversation Starters

When I first visited Myanmar, there was very little internet (none in hotels) so I prepared by downloading a PDF called Burmese By Ear.

The phrases this taught first have still stuck with me, and were really useful on my second visit years later.

I’m now making it my mission to learn similar phrases in new languages for travel.

Here’s a selection of these phrases:

It’s hot/cold/ok/good/spicy/delicious/pretty.
It’s not hot/cold/ok/good/spicy/delicious/pretty.
Is it hot/cold/ok/good/spicy/delicious/pretty?
Very/not very

On top of that, it’s worth adding any adjectives (and other phrases and vocab) here that are relevant to your situation.

For example, when I travelled to Seoul, I travelled with Shannon and her son. She had learnt lots of phrases she expected to come up (that did!) involving her son. For example, people would offer her a seat on the metro, so she had learnt how to politely refuse or accept.

Another thing I noticed is that people often ask about my shoes (I love Vibram Five Fingers and they look quite unusual!) so next time, I’ll plan to learn a few words that come up here: weird, comfortable, they are good for walking etc.

Give Yourself Interesting Chances to Speak

Now we’ve covered the conversations that will happen inevitably, let’s look at how we can leverage our time there to give us more practice.

One thing I’ve found really helpful to speak about interesting things when travelling is booking Airbnb Experiences or similar (that’s my referral link by the way!).

In different parts of the world, you’ll find different websites come into play here. For example, Backstreet Academy is great for Southeast Asia (and a handful of other Asian countries) and Cookly lists cooking classes only.

This is great because you can pick an experience connected to your interests and therefore prepare language based on those specific topics.

A few things to watch here though…

I’m not talking about big group tours following someone with a flag from commission shop to ancient sight to commission shop. Those tours can be helpful, but not really for language learning. Chances are they’ll be in English and most other guests will be English speakers too.

Instead, focus on finding individual private experiences, experiences with hosts who list in the language you’re learning, or experiences that have many reviews in the language you’re learning.

Once you’ve found a good experience, remember to mention in your message to the host that you’ve been learning and would like to practice your skills as part of the trip.

Another option here is to engage in local language activities. This could be anything from concerts or theatre to the cinema to local language learner meet-ups.

Making the Most of Museums

Museums can be great places not only to learn more about stuff, but also for a little language practice.

If there’s bilingual signs, challenge yourself not to read the English first and instead read in the local language and use the English to confirm.

If there’s not bilingual signs, skim read and see what you can understand and then you can use Google Translate’s camera translate feature to give you an idea of what’s been said.

A few pointers here…

You’ll likely want to download the language you’re learning on Google Translate in case you can’t use your phone data and/or there’s no WiFi available where you need to translate.

Second, depending on the language, it might not be the most accurate translation…I have a collection of screengrabbed Korean to English Google Translated signs on my phone from my trip to Korea!

Get off The Main Drag

If you’re only hanging around where tourists are, you’ll be bombarded with English signs and picture menus, not overly helpful when you’re visiting to try out your language skills.

To make things easier (or trickier but more fun!) get off the main tourist drag.

This means finding little local cafes a street or two (or seven!) away and visiting independent shops rather than big souvenir ones or international brands.

That said, it can be fun to head to Starbucks or McDonalds and see the little differences. I’m definitely not a snob to a Dunkin’ Donut in Korea or a Costa in Portugal!

An easy way to find these more local places however is to try searching TripAdvisor for places with more reviews in the local language than English.

Keep Notes After Interactions

You’ve just had an interaction with a local. You got to use that language and it feels great. Or maybe it doesn’t feel as great as you hoped. Either way, we can learn from this.

What didn’t you know how to say? Which words didn’t come to you? What did you have to mime?

Make notes on the things that stumped you so you know what’s relevant to learn next for you. You can do this at the time on your phone or in a little notebook. Alternatively, you could save a little time when you get back to your accommodation each day to do this.

Read Everything!

With so much emphasis on speaking, remember not to rule out reading eeeeverything!

Being “immersed” doesn’t just mean hearing and speaking that language everywhere for a week or so. The street signs, the leaflets, the tickets, the food packaging…there’s chances to read that language everywhere.

Make use of it.

Buy Books You Can’t Get At Home

This one will be different for different languages and countries.

Before I visited Paraguay, it was really difficult to find books to buy online to learn Guarani. So, when I arrived in Asunción, there was no way I was leaving without a little collection of books to help me learn when I got home.

Another option here is to look for books in the local language teaching other languages you’ve learnt or want to learn.

Just remember to save some space when you’re packing before you leave for your trip!

Embrace Your Wobbly Language

Rather than feel disappointed with your current language skills, embrace your current level. There’s always going to be situations that don’t work out or confuse you or make you feel like you’re a complete beginner when you’ve been learning for decades.

When we visited Latin America, there were a couple of occasions where people assumed I couldn’t speak Spanish well or where I didn’t understand what had been said to me, despite well over 15 years of Spanish study! So no worries.

Instead, use your charm! Smile, laugh, take it easy. This always comes across as much more friendly, endearing and approachable than when you’re trying too hard to pronounce every single syllable perfectly.

Besides, your wobbly language allows you some wiggle room in case you make any cultural faux pas too, as it lets people know you’re new here.

Pick Your Accommodation Wisely

When you’re planning your trip and selecting your accommodation, try and find places that are a little more likely to give you chances to use the language.

It was unexpected, but when I arrived at my accommodation in Jeju, Korea, the host was out and had left the keys for arrival on the desk with names written in Hangul. Oddly, I’d never seen my name written in Korean – and never in handwritten Hangul either. It felt like a fun test to get my room!

At my hotel after that in Gwangju, the host didn’t speak English at all and so we used a combination of him speaking into Google Translate on his phone and my basics in Korean to check in. This one I did expect, as I’d read reviews saying he had done this with other guests, which was one reason I chose the place.

How do you know where to pick? A few options…

Look for places with more reviews in the local language or websites not in English.

Look for places that are smaller and run by locals. If they offer things like breakfast, this will be a good chance each day to speak a little language first thing.

In Cuba, asides from resorts, many tourists stay in what’s called locally ‘casas particulares’. These are a state-run scheme of independent people setting up bed and breakfasts in their homes and it’s the best way to see the country (and speak the language). You could say Cuba invented Airbnb!

You tend to get breakfast included, which makes for a really great chance to practise your Spanish each morning as you order.