Language Barrier - Do you learn the lingo?
By Darren Cronian on Friday, April 28th, 2006

I wonder how many people that travel to foreign shores learn to speak the basics of the local language before travelling? I know I do, even if it’s just ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’ I like to learn a few basic words just to help me on my travels - this has helped me a few times and also portrays the other side of the bad image of English people abroad.

Last year I visited Torrevieja, which is a town, on the tourist trap of the Costa Blanca, in Spain, and visited a local cafe, to have a cold drink and relax in the sun. I do this a lot on my travels because I like to people watch.

Anyway, I entered the cafe and said ‘Hola por favor podría comer es emperador’ which roughly means ‘Hello, please could I have that sandwich?’ the woman knew I was English because of my dodgy Yorkshire accent, but replied back, that it was nice to hear an Englishman attempt the Spanish language.

Whilst sat down, her daughter came outside and brought me a piece of cake and started to discuss why English people don’t attempt to learn the language when in Spain, but expect foreigners to speak English when at home.

Good point - and it made me think why English people are so arrogant, when we visit Spain, we have no respect for the locals or the Spanish way of life. We drink .. eat .. get drunken, fight, and show ourselves up.

Okay, I’m not describing all English people but unfortunately, the minority who give us a bad reputation. Another example is when I went to Sydney, and during my stay I never saw a bar fight or drunken flight in the street - or police vans with truncheon baring police officers BUT one night I came out of a bar and saw a guy arguing with the bouncer - have a guess what country he came from - yep you’ve guessed it - England.


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4 responses to “Language Barrier - Do you learn the lingo?”

Ravenbajan | 1 May, 2006 at 9:23 pm

Very good point! It’s amazing how many people get irrate when visitors do not speak the local language, but then when they go to visit other countries they do not even consider offering the locals the same courtesy.

Great blog by the way!.. I just stumbled across it while searching for other travel blog sites.

Darren | 2 May, 2006 at 12:42 am

Wow I love your blog Anita! Awesome photographs - plus you’ve saved me a job searching for my blog of the day! :D Yes, its can be embarrassing, because unfortunately, the English have a bad reputation abroad, and this makes people very suspicious of you.

Keep up the great blogging!

Andrew Lodge | 27 June, 2006 at 12:28 pm

Thomsonfly takes languages ‘on board’ - New travel partner - earworms learning

The low fares airline that “goes further” is offering its flight and travel bookers a brand new service. From June they take ‘on board’ an innovative language-learning programme developed by ‘earworms learning’ that promises to have travellers to Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Greece and other destinations speaking the lingo in ‘next to no time’. This unique method is simple, convenient, fun and highly effective and doesn’t involve ‘learning’ as we know it.

Thomsonfly researched the educational market for a language learning product that was both a proven success and one that met customer needs - and hit the jackpot with earworms (mbt) The ‘Musical Brain Trainer’ - a new travel partner and a company set to revolutionise the way languages are learned.

And how does this method work? A new approach to learning and a scientifically proven phenomenon using the same brain function that causes us to repeat catchy tunes (‘earworms’) all day. Mimicking the way children learn just by listening, the words and phrases are repeated gently to groovy music. The music acts as a carrier, anchoring the sounds of the words into long-term memory with minimal concentration. The powerful effect music can have on memory has been used by advertisers for years in the form of annoyingly memorable jingles and sound bites. The educational potential of this concept however, has remained largely untapped.

Guy Stephenson, commercial director of Thomsonfly, said, “Communication is key to having an enjoyable and safe travel experience – learning some of the local language before travelling means you can get the most out of your trip but also get a greater understanding of the culture by being able to converse with local people. The earworms system makes it easy, enjoyable and fun to learn.”

Earworms Learning have already caused a small sensation in the media by reaching No.1 in the USA iTunes audio book charts. With the launch of this new partnership, they can now offer this unique, musical language course directly to holidaymakers while booking their flights - either online or by phone and at a fantastic reduced price through http://www.thomsonfly.com.

The audio CD or MP3 download can be listened to anywhere and everywhere – while stuck in traffic, at the gym or even on the plane to your holiday destination! The Rapid Languages series (vol. 1) covers the essentials for a holiday, looking at typical situations: taking a taxi, at the hotel, at the restaurant, requesting, shopping, polite phrases, finding your way, numbers, dealing with problems and more.

Travelling is an education in itself – and now with easy access to language learning at Thomsonfly.com, your holiday or business trip will be transformed into a more cultural, enjoyable and fulfilling experience.

Steve | 6 August, 2006 at 4:31 pm

I am amazed and appalled at the number of expats here in Spain who make no effort whatsoever to learn Spanish. Put in its bluntest terms it is RUDE to the indigenous population not to at least know some basics of their language.

A knowledge of the local language also makes life massively easier and more fulfilling but in the expat enclaves on the costas I sometimes fear my words are floating in the wind!