Karol Kaczmarek

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