“Oh so you must be pretty fluent in (insert language)?” is a question every language student has been asked a thousand times, and one that’s not always easy to answer. Before going on our year abroad, we can all rattle off a debate about politics, the environment, migration and other A Level topics that were drilled into us.
But can we give directions on the street, ask the bus driver where to get off, or help a lost child in a supermarket? Embarrassingly, sometimes the answer is no.
The first thing that struck me when I arrived on my year abroad was how underprepared I was to deal with everyday situations. When studying a language at university level, it’s hard to grasp how to really go about your day in another language and how to make chatty small talk.
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According to your university syllabus, the goal of your year abroad is to (supposedly) propel you towards a near-native level of fluency. We are promised total immersion, giving us no choice but to communicate in the foreign language, guaranteeing fluency. However, I have to admit that we international students could have gone days without speaking a word of the target language if we’d wanted!
In short, the reality of becoming fluent in your target language may be different to how you imagined. So, here’s some steps you can take to really get the most out of your time abroad:
- If you’re studying a language at uni, you’ll most likely spend your third year somewhere in Europe and so you should make joining your local Erasmus Student Network a priority. It hosts tons of events and the lingua franca is English, so it will really help you integrate and feel at home. Just try not to rely on your English skills too much…
- If you find yourself drawn more towards English speakers and into a cycle of speaking more English than your target language, don’t panic! It’s okay to indulge in some home comforts on your year abroad and one of these home comforts is just speaking your native language. Relying on English can make us feel like our foreign language skills are going down the drain but speaking English does allow us to build a concrete friendship group and have more meaningful conversations. In the end, just make sure you find a compromise between speaking English and diving into new language challenges: this will ensure you have a well-rounded and happy time abroad.Image from: https://unsplash.com/photos/_4c7erArmdg
- Unsure as to whether to plunge into the unknown of foreign language-only classes, friendships and activities? The best advice here is to lower your expectations in terms of fluency. Not many of us will be completely immersed and forced to speak only our foreign language, all day every day. Don’t be so hard on yourself! Look around you- in what other ways are you being exposed to the target language? Do you read adverts in shop windows every day? Do you listen in to peoples’ conversations on the bus? Have you had to read through a barrage of paperwork for signing contracts, opening a bank account and picking your university courses? All of these will improve your language skills without you even realizing.
- Be proactive in pushing yourself out of your language comfort zone. Keep your English-speaking friends but vow to join a tandem scheme offered by your host university. If you’re working abroad, then there are heaps of Facebook groups like Girls Gone International and Erasmus in… (your city). Even better- escape the Erasmus bubble by joining some extra-curricular activities for native students or local residents.
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Still wanting some extra info? Lucky for you, there is a handy and detailed guide on living in abroad tailored to wherever you’re going. You can select your country here. It covers all the things that might make your brain explode, like health insurance, Brexit guidance, residency and driving- so that you can really focus on making lifelong friends and learning your target language!