How to Learn a New Language on HolidayBy Jenny Ferguson [Travel]
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How can catching a movie help you improve your language skills? Jenny Ferguson lets you in on the best ways to learn to speak another language.  Holidays are great for relaxing and getting away from your job. They’re also a great way to pick up new language skills if you know how to vacation while keeping language in mind. These tips will help you to come home with more than just memories.Go Back to School There are language schools all over the world, from picturesque French villages to cosmopolitan cities on all continents, so your options are literally endless. If you’re ready to pick up one of the romance languages or if you’re interested in learning a whole new alphabet, there’s a school for you. Language schools are a great way to combine holiday with education and come away with a new skill set. To top it off, you’ll meet plenty of travellers from all over the world. The biggest benefit to signing up for a two-week course at a language school is that you get to combine a morning or afternoon of conversational language skills. Don’t expect to come away from your course speaking expert Spanish. Do expect to be able to talk with the locals at the bar in the evening. This isn’t like going back to high school. You’ll have plenty of time to explore your surroundings, see the sights and spend time getting to know the people. Plus, the only homework will be to use your new language skills. Some schools offer a home-stay program, where you live with a host family. This is a great opportunity to practice the day’s lessons or watch a soccer game with the family. What makes home-stay great is that there’s a chance to glean culture, slang and useful words they might not teach you in school, like a word to use when you stub your toe or lock your keys in the car! Catch a Flick Expose yourself to as much culture (pop and otherwise) that you can while on holiday. Take in a movie, even if it doesn’t have subtitles. Watch the movie and use the combination of body language, what you know about the genre and the visual hints that a movie offers to try and piece together some of the language. Keep it simple, stick to a comedy or an action movie. They tend to have easy to figure out plots and that will let you concentrate on the language. Listen to music and try to figure out what exactly the lead singer is trying to tell you. Most songs are about the same sort of things: you’ll know the words for love and heartbreak pretty quickly. While this isn’t about becoming fluent in your new language, listening to the performance of language is key to learning how it works and how it’s supposed to sound. When you start to get a feel for how words are pronounced and enunciated, it’ll be a lot easier to feel confident using the vocabulary that is at the back of your guidebook. When you’re more comfortable with Korean, Norwegian or whichever language you’re studying, you’ll start to add to your vocabulary. |
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