It is often said that English speakers don’t learn other languages, and it is difficult to deny that there is a fair degree of truth in this.

However, let’s be fair, often it is not necessary because ‘everyone speaks English’ or wants to practice it. Equally, if you speak English and you want to learn another language it is not obvious which should you choose. Spanish, Chinese, French ? You can’t learn everything and so whatever country you visit there will be the inevitable temptation to speak in English.

But even if it is not essential to learn another language, and you are put off because everyone speaks English anyway, you can learn some simple words and phrases with a simple change of mindset. It is always useful, people are more friendly when you make an effort, and it does become easier to see less touristy sites.

Decide to learn one hundred words and phrases in total before you travel.

The intention of learning only maybe one hundred foreign words and phrases is not the traditional approach to language learning which has much more emphasis on becoming ‘good’ at languages. But times change and we change with them. Cheap global travel means that it is quite usual to visit multiple countries with multiple languages spoken. It is quite possible that you are not going to visit the same country the year after year. This means that you can’t possibly attain a high level of competence for each language spoken in all the countries you visit, but you can definitely learn one hundred words. Why not have a goal of learning one hundred words and a few phrases whenever you visit a country with a different language spoken?

Cheap flights allow us to travel more widely, and give us more opportunities to dabble with languages. Learning a foreign language well is difficult and time consuming but learning a few simple words is not, and it is amazing how far you can get with please, thank you, yes, no etc. It is far easier to start learning a language than to attain conversational ability and there is a fast rate of progress when only learning a few words.

If you decide to set yourself this achievable goal you will get more out of your holiday wherever you visit. To see the truth in this you just have to consider how you view of a visitor to your country who doesn’t even know how to say please and thank-you in English. Are you impressed ? Is it any different when English speakers travel abroad. Not really. Linguata would help.