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Why You Should Learn Your Vacation Destination’s Language

Why You Should Learn Your Vacation Destination’s Language

Heading abroad this summer? Surely many of you holiday-makers have thought about learning a new language, or even more than one when booking your travels. However, the truth is that most of us lack the time or motivation to achieve a practical, usable enough level. To boost your inspiration, here are some good reasons why you should definitely learn your vacation destination’s language.

1. Increase Your Confidence

Once you’ve decided to learn a language you will realise how fast you increase your confidence. Your progress will provide enough motivation to continue learning. You will also receive the admiration of those who do not have enough motivation to learn a language. Even native speakers of that language will be impressed by your ability and will surely please you to speak your language, or at least try.

And do not worry. Nobody expects you to use perfect grammar or talk up a storm from the beginning. You will see the amount of positive words to get as soon as you start to use your language skills. This in turn will give you the courage to tackle other projects that did not have the courage to face before. You will be able to mingle with the locals during your holiday, and as a result, discover places of interest and hidden gems that you would probably not have known about before.

2. Train The Brain

This may sound a little far-fetched, but learning a foreign language helps to keep you fit and healthy. In dealing with the vocabulary and complicated grammar required, your brain is trained not only to increase your memory, but also for better results in tests and examinations. In addition, a study by the University College of London found that people who speak two or more languages have fewer illnesses like Alzheimer’s.

3. Traveling Becomes More Fun

When you learn a new language, it will completely change your holiday. Instead of staying in hotels or big tourist resorts, you can find the courage to mingle with the locals and travel outside the usual tourist spots and other popular routes. At first it can be a bit disconcerting, but you will quickly realise how open people react when you approach them and try to speak their mother tongue. Aside from having a different impression of your trip, you will also experience occasional adventure. With a good knowledge of languages you will return home with many exciting memories of your holiday.

4. Make Better Decisions

A study by the University of Chicago showed that learning a foreign language helps people to make better and faster decisions. People who have grown up in a bilingual environment have more confidence in themselves and will think things in both languages before making a final decision. A second language, therefore, could help simplify both small and big decisions in life, as we become more open minded and take more risks.

5. Find New Friends

Learn Your Vacation Destination's Language

When attending a language course, you will surround yourself with a lot of new, like-minded people that you could end up forging a friendship with. Often those friendships are maintained even after returning home, visiting each other in their countries of origin or maintaining contact through social networks. Your new holiday language skills will also help you communicate better with people from other cultures, allowing you to establish great friendships and learn a lot from each other.

6. Live, Work or Study Abroad

A new language can help you to live, work or study in other countries. Especially for the more adventurous, this is the perfect opportunity. Have you ever dreamed of living in a beautiful island between the South Seas? Or would you like to be accepted at a Spanish university? Learning a language can open doors to these destinations. You might get lucky and find your dream job or your life partner while traveling abroad.

7. Experiencing New Cultures

Young blond lady on safari

Learning a foreign language for your holiday is not focused only on memorizing vocabulary and grammar correctly, but also entails learning about the culture of the country where the language is used. You need to know about the daily life of the local people, their traditions and their way of thinking. A new language can greatly expand your horizons.

8. Open The Mind

Here is our 8th reason to learn your Vacation Destination’s Language. A new language helps you to understand other people and see your holiday destination through different eyes. All human beings are shaped by the culture in which they live and behave accordingly. To compare your behavior with others might make you become more tolerant and open to others.

9. Where Can I Get Started?

Our final reason for learning your Vacation Destination’s Language is that there are a plethora of places to learn that language. You can book places on courses, buy language learning books by the likes of Collins or introduce yourself gently with fun online language games and more in depth online courses.

Dennis Star, Sense PR | August 22, 2016

Follow Dennis on Twitter: DennisStarPR

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