| Most everybody is aware of the great stereotype of | | | | player, copy your listening material onto that too and |
| the English-speaking tourist. When travelling, he or she | | | | listen to it frequently. Good opportunities are while |
| does not bother to learn a single word of the country's | | | | travelling, exercising or doing housework or cooking. |
| language, preferring to roar at ever-increasing volume | | | | Try imitating the phrases (probably not while you're on |
| 'DO-YOU-SPEAK-ENGLISH?' In Spain or Italy, the | | | | the bus though) until you feel you're getting the sounds |
| unlucky natives may be subjected to an even more | | | | right. |
| ridiculous take on this (something along the lines of | | | | After you've been practicising these phrases each day |
| 'Hallo-a! Speak-a you English-a?'). | | | | for a week, get a friend to test you on them. Ask |
| This situation is, first of all, embarrassing for all involved. | | | | them to ask you for the translation of each phrase. If |
| Secondly, it is quite plainly rude and shows the world | | | | you can repeat them all easily in your target language, |
| that you simply could not be bothered to pick up a | | | | you're doing very well. Keep up with this schedule until |
| pocket dictionary, or even take a quick look online and | | | | you head off on holiday. Still, be under no illusions: what |
| find out the basic words to get your point across. You | | | | you know will get you by and probably win you points |
| do not want to be this tourist. | | | | with locals, but you will certainly not be able to actively |
| I'm not saying you should aim to be fluent before you | | | | communicate with people in the language. It is a very |
| head off on holiday. Neither am I suggesting you use | | | | good idea to take a pocket dictionary with you on your |
| up all your freetime studying and feeling guilty when | | | | holidays in case you get stuck or to prepare words |
| nothing goes in. What we're aiming for here is a happy | | | | you know will come in useful on vacation. |
| middle-ground, which allows you to avoid being 'that | | | | If you are aiming to learn more, make a list of your |
| tourist' and avoid putting your food in it wherever you | | | | targets. If you want to learn how to say you are from |
| go. Some countries are surprisingly gracious towards | | | | England, your name and your age, then those are your |
| tourists who do not speak the language, but many will | | | | targets. Maybe your targets are to be able to read a |
| go out of their way to be unhelpful and discourteous if | | | | restaurant menu in the target language, or perhaps to |
| you do not make a cursory effort to speak their | | | | be able to recognise the numbers 1-20. Aim to spend a |
| language. This puts a damper on many holidays and | | | | little time learning every day. |
| can make things very difficult. Therefore it is also to | | | | If your goal is reading-based, spend most time studying |
| your benefit practically to have a try. | | | | vocabulary or reading basic texts. You should be able |
| What should I learn? | | | | to find many online, including on the websites |
| If you are very limited on time, these are the holiday | | | | mentioned above. |
| phrases you will want to learn: | | | | If your goal is speaking-based, your time should be split |
| - Hello | | | | between speaking and listening. The best option is to |
| - Goodbye | | | | seek out transcripts of audio files, so you can listen |
| - Please | | | | and read the text at the same time. Read and listen |
| - Thank you | | | | many times until you can understand approximately |
| - I would like... | | | | 80% of what is being said. |
| - Can you help me? | | | | If your goal is to simply learn more vocabulary, all of |
| - Do you speak English? | | | | the above practice will help, but another tip is to write |
| This may not seem like much, but it is the absolute | | | | down the words in your target language of coloured |
| basics and you will be surprised how far you can get | | | | slips of papers with the English translation on the other |
| with pointing and gesticulating. You may want to add a | | | | side. Every day, go through these flashcards, viewing |
| game or two or charades to your training schedule, in | | | | each the foreign language or English side. Once you |
| this case. | | | | can easily remember what each word means, put |
| If you have slightly more time, you may then want to | | | | those cards into a separate pile or box. Look at these |
| have a go at learning a bit more vocabulary: | | | | approximately every once a week and the cards you |
| -numbers from 1-20 | | | | have trouble remembering every day. The frequent |
| -telling the time | | | | practice makes a big difference to what you can |
| - reading a menu | | | | remember. Try to think of words which you will need |
| - basic directions eg: left, right, turn | | | | or use frequently on vacation or while travelling. |
| In the case that you find yourself with a bit of spare | | | | Finally, do not forget that pocket dictionary! No matter |
| time after that, concentrate on learning vocabulary and | | | | how much you learn, you may still be stumped once in |
| listening to exercises online rather than trying to | | | | a while. Overall it is handy to keep these things in mind: |
| memorise phrases to speak. It is much easier to train | | | | -All progress is good. You should not expect to |
| your 'passive vocabulary' – phrases that you can | | | | understand locals quickly or be disappointed if you |
| recognise – than your 'active vocabulary' – | | | | forget words or don't understand. It is a process. |
| words which you can actively produce when speaking. | | | | -It is not important at this stage to sound 'correct'. It is |
| What is the best way to learn? | | | | more important to get your point across. |
| As mentioned above, if you are only trying to learn a | | | | -You don't need to devote hours a day to learning: you |
| few phrases for your holidays to show that you're | | | | can learn simply by plugging in your earphones and |
| making an effort, you do not need to learn any | | | | listening to audio files while you're doing other activities |
| grammar or do any writing. What you want to focus | | | | or taking five minutes each day before bed to review |
| on here is listening and repeating. There are several | | | | vocabulary. |
| good online resources available in multiple languages | | | | - Have fun and enjoy your holidays! Language learning |
| that allow you to learn basic phrases and listen to | | | | is about communication and broadening your mind, not |
| them online. Two of the best are: | | | | making yourself stressed! |
| - Write down the phrases in both the target language | | | | Finally, happy holiday. Or...bon voyage, gute Reise, buen |
| and in English and carry them around with you to look | | | | viaje and buon viaggio! |
| at multiple times during the day. If you have an MP3 | | | | |