IWTYAL 56: Do I have to travel to learn a language?

I answer the common question: “Do I need to travel to learn a language?”

In this episode:

Against traveling:

• As a tourist, you will often find you are spoken to mostly in English
• Even if you are able to practise, it can be limited to simple exchanges – such as ordering in a restaurant or buying a train ticket
• People in certain countries are notorious for resisting helping you practise their own language, preferring to speak English instead
• If you’re not a confident, outgoing person, the very thought of practising with native speakers might terrify you!
• Making friends using only your target language is difficult, and unlikely to happen until you are a more advanced speaker and live somewhere for a more extended period
• People who decide to live and work abroad often find themselves in an English-speaking environment, with few opportunities to practise the language. Working full-time, they are busy and tired, and have limited study time, despite living in the country itself

For staying at home:

• A stable life and routine means you can get on with your study without too many disruptions. When you live abroad, far from family and friends, it can be difficult to commit to regular study and stay consistent.
• You can recreate an immersion environment at home, by streaming movies, listening to podcasts, playing music, and reading in your target language… all you need is an internet connection!
• In a big city, the world is quite literally on your doorstep. Whatever language you’re learning, you can easily find people to practise with. And because they’re living abroad, they’re far more likely to be enthusiastic about helping you learn their language.
• You can find cafes, restaurants, MeetUps, societies, and more, where you can spend time surrounded by the culture of the language you’re learning, and meet others who share the same interest as you.
• Professional language teachers are everywhere (including online), so if you want to take lessons, there’s no need to travel to learn.
• In cities like New York and London, you can find the world’s best language departments in bookstores, so you’re never short of great study material. (Check out Rizzoli in NYC, or Foyles in London)

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Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.