Date: 09.2010 – 06.2011
Visited countries: Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia
Traveled distance: ~ 8 000 km
Crew: Hundred of crazy Erasmus students
Goal: Spend amazing year studying at the foreign university.
Route/Visited places:
Pokaż Erasmus na większej mapie
Blog posts:
Erasmus – is it worth it
Gallery:
Erasmus
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about various aspects of doing a year of studies at the foreign university and why everyone should definitely consider taking part in the student exchange. My one year in Austria is almost over, so I think it’s the highest time to write the continuation of that post, this time focusing on the language learning possibilities while being abroad.
Improving language skills is for many one of the most important reasons to participate in a student exchange program. In my opinion such exchange is also one of the most efficient ways to learn language. However, if you think it’s enough just to come to a foreign country and your language skills will be magically improving every second, I am glad you are reading this post, cause you couldn’t be more wrong.
First of all, if you go to a non-English speaking country and you want to pick up the local language instead of English, you will be surprised how little contact with that language you will have. Based on my experience, only about half of the exchange students you meet will be willing to speak the local language and only half of those will be able to do it. Yes, most of the people will prefer to speak English, as they usually know it better.
I came to Austria knowing enough German to (at least try to) communicate in it, so I had to find out some ways to practice it even when I was surrounded by people who really didn’t care about learning it 
.
1. Take all courses in the language you really want to learn
In most cases the university will offer you courses in both, local language and English.
If you have at least basic knowledge of the local language, don’t even think about taking courses in English. First 1-2 weeks can be a little bit overwhelming, cause you probably won’t understand too much and you will have to befriend with a dictionary, but you will be surprised how fast the situation changes.
Each course has some crucial, course-specific words you obviously don’t know at the beginning, but after a week or so you will easily pick them up and you will be able to understand what the teacher explains with no trouble.
2. Form project teams with regular students
If you’ve already enrolled for some courses, you are likely to create some projects in groups. It can be tempting to form groups with your friends or different English-speaking foreigners, but don’t do it! You can spend time with them during different occasions like parties, but for the project team I’d highly recommend to look for native-speakers. It’s not only a great opportunity to meet interesting students, but also a great chance to improve your language skills! Working on the project will require you to speak about the problems you encountered, about the ideas and possible improvements. You won’t say only what you can say, but you will have to transfer all necessary information. I’m now writing about the projects from the programmer’s perspective, but I’m sure that it does not differ a lot in other areas 
3. Hang out with local people
They are usually friendly to foreigners and want to get know you as much as you do (or even more)! Don’t be afraid of speaking their language, they understand that you are still learning and will surely forgive you any mistakes.
4. Find a tandem
One to one conversations with native speakers are very beneficial.
Go to your university’s announcement board and write a note that you would like to learn/practice the language and that you are looking for a tandem partner. Of course, don’t forget to write which languages you offer in return.
5. Enroll for activities prepared by the university
Every university has some organization which takes care of incoming students. Studying abroad is a lot of fun, because of the excursions and parties organized by them. Don’t stay at home, go have fun with other people and you will have a plenty of occasions to speak the foreign language.
6. Enroll for more activities
You want to have contact with native speakers? Go and meet them!
Student band, theater group, gym, football team, local charitable organization, and many others, these all are great places to meet people while doing what you like!
I enrolled for salsa lessons, where, however, I did not find German speaking dancing partner though 
They were from Russia, France and Croatia, but It was a nice time anyway! Just don’t be passive and do what seems fun and interesting to you!
7. Take a language course
Universities usually offer discounts for exchange students, so you can participate in a high quality language course, where you won’t hear a word in your native language, for a reasonable price. Don’t limit yourself to the general courses, cause those – even that good – are usually overcrowded. Besides the general one I took also grammar and phonetic course. In the second one there were only four participants.. and two teachers You can learn much faster in smaller groups. Just check what your university offers.
8. Immerse in the language!
Yes! Total immersion is extremely helpful. In practice it means that you should surround yourself with the language you want to learn, literally! Listen to a local radio, read local newspapers (you can usually get some for free on the bus stops or in the metro if you don’t want to spend money for it), articles, blogs, comics, write on discussion boards, watch TV and movies. Try to have contact with the language on every step and you will be picking it up with no effort.
9. Listen people talking on the streets
Sounds silly? The language people use in the everyday life differs a lot from the one you learned at school. Are you waiting on the bus stop? Are you staying in the queue? Are you eating in the restaurant? Pay attention to what other people say and what constructions they use. You will discover those differences on your own and believe me, it’s very rewarding!
10. Don’t be afraid of speaking
Learning language can be a lot of fun, but don’t forget that the main goal is to use it in conversations with other people. The earlier you start using it, the better. Don’t let your shyness stop you, because you think you do mistakes. Of course you do! And there is nothing wrong with it, it’s totally normal (Btw. how many language errors have I already made in this post? Who cares…). Everyone who at least tried to learn some foreign language will understand and accept that you are not speaking totally correct and there is a good chance that they will even try to help you by correcting or giving some tips.
Just remember, that if you are afraid of speaking, you will never learn the language, so practice as much as it’s possible!
At the end I want to say one more thing. Be patient. Learning language is a long process and even that a stay abroad can make it significantly shorter, it will still take a lot of time. There will be days when you see how big progress you have made, there will be also those days, when you notice how much you have yet to learn. The point here is not to become discouraged and assure that you learn something new every day.
Good luck!
Btw. If you are thinking about going abroad to learn some language, but don’t know which one yet, read this: best language to learn .
Ok, sorry for the advertisement of polish language, no more
For many people the perspective of leaving home for one year is something which successfully discourages them from taking part in the foreign studies. I decided to give Erasmus a chance and I’m currently (since October) studying at the Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt in Austria. Therefore, in this note, I would like to write my reflections about the exchange studies. I want to point out some of the greatest opportunities it gives and hopefully prove that nobody should miss this opportunity.
First of all, however, I should state that all difficulties you heard you have to face during foreign studies are… completely true! Yes, you have to spend a lot of your precious time dealing with all the formalities, setting up your university accounts, bank account and signing various agreements in language you don’t really understand (unless you understand it pretty well, of course ). You usually don’t know anyone during first days, but, looking at it from the other side, could you ever imagine better opportunity to meet new friends than that? Being alone or almost alone in the new country, surrounded by dozens, if not hundreds of students who are in exactly the same situation!
That’s what I would call the magic of Erasmus (and I really don’t like pompous words), the cultural exchange happens here on virtually every corner. You will find a bunch of great people from different countries, you will start new amazing friendships or even relationships. The only thing you can be sure of is that you surely won’t be alone .
If you love traveling, you will find many people who share your passion and weekend without a trip to neighboring district, city or even country will be the lost one. Austria is quite small and Klagenfurt is located in the very enchanting area, near Alps, 40km from the border with Slovenia and 60km from Italy, so I tried to travel relatively a lot (there were people who visited much more places than I did though).
We begun with (I came to Klagenfurt with one friend from my university) Munich during Oktoberfest and famous Neuschwanstein Castle on our way to Klagenfurt.
Yet in October we drove to Pyramidenkogel which offers a breathtaking view on the on the state of Carinthia.
We also couldn’t resist going to Salzburg, the city of Mozart. Despite many historical places I had occasion to visit two hospitals there, as I got my finger infected… have no idea how and when though.
During Christmas time we set out to Slovenia to visit it’s capital – Ljubljana and charming Bled lake.
And finally, for “Fasching” (Austrian carnival) we’ve headed to Villach, second largest city in Carinthia.
To be honest I was quite surprised that Austrians celebrate the carnival so much, it’s a lot of fun and I wouldn’t mind having this kind of festival in Poland
And it’s not only once a year, they have more events like this! Just look at the photos from “Krampuslauf”. It’s a march of the creatures called “Krampus” which are more or less the opposite of Santa Claus coming in a huge number to Klagenfurt every year;)
Pretty enjoyable isn’t it?
As I previously wrote, Klagenfurt is surrounded by mountains, which means that there is a lot of skiing resorts around. Keeping this in minds we took snowboards with us and… it was one of the best decisions we could ever make (at least during winter semester, the summer one is still ahead ).
Even though Austria has not a lot to offer in the terms of natural scenery apart from mountains, the Alps make it’s landscape incredibly astonishing!
Wherever you go for studies, you will probably find many places worth visit like the ones above. The only problem will be the limited number of weekends and… the budget (unfortunatel, even if you consider scholarship, Erasmus won’t let you save any money ).
If you don’t like traveling however, you surely won’t be bored either. At most of the universities there are organizations which gather local students willing to meet colleagues from different countries. They organize a lot of parties and funny activities, which you are more than welcome to take part in. You are likely to get a buddy who will introduce you to the life in the new city. Although I didn’t have any buddy, I know a lot of people who have/had one (or even two!) .
What you also have to keep in mind is that you are basically still studying there and even though all the activities, trips and parties seem to be very tempting, you will still have to do some projects and pass exams. How many? It’s generally up to you (and your home university). But don’t worry, most of the professors will be very friendly and help you if you encounter any problems. If we are talking about the courses, I can’t generalize, but at least at the University of Klagenfurt you can choose from a great number of subjects, also those for students doing Master’s degree. Thanks to this freedom of choice I picked only subjects which really interested me and which (as I believe) will be useful in future. Recently I even took one additional course, just for fun and having more contact with German language
I should also write something about other important aspect of being abroad, namely, learning language. After whole year of student exchange, you will noticeable improve your language skills. But even though many people think so, it won’t happen automatically, just because you are in the foreign country. As I said, you will have to put some effort and show motivation to learn it. Especially, if you are in the non-English speaking country and you want to learn the local language (like me ), you will find many obstacles on your way, as most of the people will most eagerly speak English with you. There is a lot of ways to learn the language efficiently during your Erasmus, but this post is already long enough and I will write more about it in the next post.
As you see, you will have a bunch of opportunities as an Erasmus student and not using them would be a big mistake. I heard from many people who had to return after the first semester, that the time they spent in Klagenfurt was the best in their lifes and that the thing they regret the most is not coming here for 2 semesters (many people prolonged their stays though ;P).
I hope this post will encourage other students to take part in this “life changing experience” and that they will enjoy their stays at the foreign university as much as I did (and still do ).
Just give it a chance!
