Learning More Lingo…….

Many Britons are turning to learning languages like never before, according to the Guardian Newspaper. French is one of the most popular choices, as many adults took up a language online during lockdown. The timing seems at odds with recent events like Brexit and Covid stopping overseas travel. With our recent exit from the European Union, should we be saying a very firm and British Goodbye? Yet for many in the UK, it seems that on our departure it is more a case of Au revoir.

Academics maintain the recent upsurge in language apps in Lockdown, shows a pent-up interest and wish to study languages. For a nation supposedly averse to speaking other languages, the British have been turning in large numbers to foreign tongues as a first resort in the absence of more traditional forms of entertainment and communication. 

 It shows there are a lot of people who want to learn a language. It’s surprising how often you meet people in all walks of life who are taking language courses. But many people have been put off by unrealistically difficult exam syllabuses at school, GCSE and A level papers are too demanding and grading is too harsh when compared to other subjects.   Oxford Professor Katrin Kohl 

Formal language learning in our schools has declined substantially over the last 15 years, but there are some signs of encouragement. The British Council’s annual Language Trends survey showed a marked increase in children who took French or Spanish at GCSE in 2019, although A-level entries were still down. It would be great if parents could encourage their children to see the importance of learning another language. In 2018, 96% of pupils in upper secondary education in the EU’s 27 countries learnt English as a foreign language. In a majority of EU Member States, more than three fifths of all upper secondary education pupils were learning two or more foreign languages.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the human experience is our ability to connect with others. Being able to communicate with someone in his or her language is an incredible gift. Bilinguals have the unique opportunity to communicate with a wider range of people in their personal and professional lives.

Despite the decline in schools, adults continue to value language highly, the British Council found. During the spring lockdown, 10% of adults in the UK began learning a foreign language or returned to one after a break. A third of those surveyed said that Spanish was the most important language for young people to learn, followed by French at 20% and Mandarin at 18%.

Thousands more are learning Spanish, German, Italian, or other EU languages, with some of them hoping to improve their language skills to a level where they qualify for citizenship of a European country. Since British citizens no longer have the right to live and work in EU countries after the 31^st of December 2020. The UK is now one of Duolingo’s top five countries by the total number of daily learners, according to the app’s UK general manager, Colin Watkins, with a rise in new learners of 132% on last year. Events like Brexit and Covid plus cultural moments like the Olympics are driving the change, he said. “Brits now want to be better citizens of the world when we travel, when we do business, when we meet people in the UK.” 

I was introduced to Duolingo by a work colleague in lockdown. And since June 2020 have been learning three languages every day.  I introduced my mother to this app and at 76 years old she is learning Spanish. I like the easy- to- use, fun format of Duolingo, I don’t think you could become fluent, but I combine a mix of CDs and books as well as the phone app and have been surprised at how much I have learnt.

I have long been embarrassed at how poor my own language skills and those of my fellow brits are compared to my French, Spanish and German friends. To think that many ex-pats cannot speak the language of the country they live in is wrong on so many levels. Just because English is spoken in most countries is not really a valid excuse. You can simply use your smartphone or other devices to translate everything on-the-go. And while technology certainly helps with communication, but it can never replace human interactions. Be warned, Google translate is also not fully accurate!

Colin Watkins, from Duolingo, says that many of the 15 million people who have signed up to Duolingo’s online courses are not aiming to become fluent but to gain a basic level of understanding. As one of our first courses French was already very popular, so to see it make the top five shows new learners have chosen it because they want to travel there in the future, maybe want to do business, emigrate, or just pick up on what they learned in school.”

Other language learning apps are seeing similar rises. Memrise saw a large increase in new users in March, and 70% of people using its platform are learning Spanish or French, while German, Italian and Japanese are also popular.

The app, Babel helps its community remember the vocabulary they learn through six memory stages using “spaced repetition,” moving words through exercises that are arranged to aid retention. In bite-sized, 10–15-minute lessons, students have opportunities to gain skills in reading, writing, grammar and speaking in their target language in likely scenarios, especially for travel.

Yes, learning a new language is a big challenge. But if you can get in the right state of mind and you're not looking for overnight fluency, the progress you make will make can make you feel incredibly proud. You do have to remain consistent for a few months to see steady progress but it is totally worth it and the more you do it the easier it gets. It’s also a great way to keep your brain in trim studies have shown that using more than one language can delay the onset of dementia by four to five years. Yet another great reason.

Bon Chance et Au revoir.

Solo Travel

When I decided to set of on my solo journey a few years ago, this was seen by some as a slightly odd thing to do. But I didn’t have a partner in crime to travel with and too be quite honest although I was a bit nervous about travelling alone, I was also excited by my solo trip. Travelling solo is a huge opportunity to see the world on your own terms without having to compromise with someone else’s plans. Your schedule is entirely yours to decide. Solo travel is something everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. There's no better way to get to know who you are as a person than by spending time with yourself away from the distractions of everyday life. Whilst It does take a certain amount of confidence to find your own way and engage with strangers, the good-points definitely outweigh the bad. So go on, embrace your inner Shirley Valentine.

Surprisingly, one in three Britons will now set off on holiday alone this year. Companies organising small-group adventure tours and escorted journeys report that as many as half of their customers now travel on their own. In part this is due to the fact that a quarter of all adults have never married or are now divorced or widowed. Many keen travellers have partners who either cannot or will not travel with them. I am not saying that travelling with family and friends cannot be incredibly rewarding and enjoyable, because it can be a wonderful experience this is just a different way of travelling. When you are away with people you know well, you can find yourselves talking about the usual things like work or people you have in common etc. Also, a solo traveller, can also seem more approachable. If you’re with a partner or friend, it’s tempting to talk mostly with each other, and outsiders might not want to impose. But if you’re by yourself, it’s often easier for someone else to strike up a conversation with you or vice versa. If I stopped for a coffee or something to eat, I often found myself sharing a table with stranglers and I met some lovely people from many different countries and had some very interesting conversations.

Travelling alone makes remaining in your own comfort zone impossible, which can lead to a more intense travel experience. You have to turn to the locals more for human interaction giving you more opportunities to learn a different language or improve your language skills. I made friends with a few locals and this gave me the chance to really see what it was like to live in a different country and I have remained friends. Travel offers you the chance to make friendships that may last a lifetime.

The biggest problem with solo travel is finding suitable accommodation as most travel companies usually offer rates based on at least two people travelling. The single supplement charge added to rooms for single travellers can be very high and can make travel for singles too expensive. However, due to the demand, tour operators and cruise lines are finally starting to cater for single people. There are also many specialist singles tour operators offering a wide range of trips like short breaks in Europe to Trip-of-a Lifetime destinations around the world. On a personal note, I use Airbnb and Homeaway and have had great experiences, both renting small apartments on my own and renting a room in a shared house. I prefer this as I don’t enjoy staying in hotels all that much. If you do like hotels, larger tour operators like TUI offer a range of hotels with single rooms to suit every kind of budget. I found their website their bit difficult to navigate as it kept taking me back to booking for two adults. I think a good travel agent can probably offer you assistance in booking your holiday.

If you are travelling alone for whatever reason and would prefer to go on an arranged trip or holiday, there are quite a few companies about that offer this service. I researched this market and found one of the best to be One Traveller, which is an online company.

One Traveller was founded in 2007 by Ian Darkin. Having worked as a Tour Manager for ten years, he saw that single travellers often felt marginalised or awkward when mixing with the couples who usually made up most of his tour groups. Eventually, Ian began organising excursions for these individuals within the holiday’s free time and from there, the idea of what would later become One Traveller emerged. One Traveller was founded as a specialist holiday company specifically for mature single travellers. The principle of their holidays is that guests are made to feel welcome and included, with nobody left on their own, unless they wish to do so. There is no stipulation of marital status, however no couples are allowed either. Guests simply need to be travelling alone. There is a wide selection of cruises, train tours and bus tours. Taking into account its more mature market these are cultural, scenic or classical cities. It would be a great way to see how you like travelling alone but with company on hand if you felt you needed it.

Overall, I found solo travelling a very positive thing, you need to take some simple precautions in order to keep yourself safe. I left an itinerary with a family member with contact details so I could always be traced. Use some common-sense, by being cautious when out alone after dark and researching unsafe neighbourhoods. I was due to visit Barcelona and a work colleague told me she had been mugged in the daytime. Now this was alarming but she advised me to wear my handbag, across my body, and to put a scarf over the top to hide it and stay alert. This also works for markets and other busy areas. One downside of travelling alone for longer periods of time with no constant routine in your life is that it can be draining and you may struggle with issues of loneliness. I did encounter this a little bit, from time to time. Homesickness is something every long-term traveller must deal with. But you know, I just told myself how lucky I was to be able to go on such a wonderful trip. Finding something to do that makes you happy like going to an art gallery or the beach can help. Reading is great and learning the language keeps your brain active. I taught myself how to cook local dishes, eating and drinking, not to excess, is a wonderful way to really absorb the culture.

By being able to sort out problems or figure out where you are when you’re lost can give you a new sense of confidence and faith in your own resourcefulness. My map-reading skills started at a poor 2/10 now I am a solid 8/10. I learnt the bus and timetables so well I helped out other tourists too.

When you venture out into the world on your own, you eventually need to face who you are, what you care about, and what you want to do with your time. For me this carried not only into other trips but also into my life at home too. It was a journey of the mind as well as the body.

I wouldn’t have missed my trips for the world. I can fully understand why a journey is at the centre of many of our greatest and most significant myths, novels, and memoirs. Travel changes you forever….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking the Lingo

One of the most important skills you can have as a modern citizen is the ability to communicate with a wide variety of people. One way to achieve this is to speak more than one language.

The one thing that has become even more apparent when I go on my travels is how bad, the English are as a country for learning a second language. Now I know that English is a universal language, but that’s not really an excuse. Also consider that Chinese Mandarin is spoken the most followed by Spanish, well that’s a surprise! Although French and German are taught in schools, certainly when I was at school, languages were never seen as important as other subjects and certainly were not taught in the same way as other countries. As a teenager, I went on a French exchange trip, and in France, languages were much more popular with pupils, with the option to learn several languages. Now as an adult, I have tried to keep up my skills by listening to language tapes, discs and books and attending a few courses. I am currently using the Duolingo app on my phone which is very user- friendly and I would highly recommend.

When I visit overseas, I do try to converse as much as I can and even learning the basics like: hello, goodbye and thank you, I always find are much appreciated. My Spanish friends have taught me bits and pieces and this is very different from what is taught on language discs. Paul Noble, a very talented linguist, has been working with the publisher Collins, and his no- nonsense guide to learning a new language is a breath of fresh air.

The world has become smaller, we can have friends, family and even work colleagues who live in different countries, so all the more reason to learn a different language. Learning commonly spoken languages opens up a world of opportunities to be able to communicate with a bunch of new people. Another good reason to learn a language is that you’re travelling to a place where the language is spoken. If this is your reason, you probably don’t need to achieve fluency (unless you want to!) and instead should focus on useful phrases for getting around town, ordering food, and other practical activities.

I had an Italian boss, who taught her children to speak both Italian and English from birth, so now both her children are bi-lingual and she is now doing the same with her grand-children. Paul Noble, speaks about the ability to speak languages has been seen as a gift, and despite his skill, at first, he didn’t find it easy, which is good news for us all. Paul states that to practise regularly and just having a go and keeping going is all that you need.

I find I don’t always keep up with my languages but I am going to try to, moving forward. My friend told me about Duolingo and you can learn for as little as 5 or 10 minutes a day. So, on your lunch time break or on the bus or train on the way to work would be ideal. Duolingo makes language-learning fun and its easy to use. There are different types of exercises, from simply translating words to listening to excerpts and being asked to type what you heard. There are also interesting and interactive stories that put the language to use for Spanish, French, German, Italian even Chinese. The game-like setting ensures that you’re never bored and challenges you to complete goals and learn more. There are other services out there as well, like Babbel which is also a free app, I think.

Another entertaining way to monitor your progress and learn some new words or phrases is to explore the media in your target language. This could be the news, podcasts, radio, movies, TV shows, music, literature, or even children’s books. Basically, anything that is uses the language in context. it can help your comprehension (reading or listening, depending on the type of media). This forces you to exercise the parts of your brain that are used for language comprehension. It can also teach you popular words or phrases that might be helpful to know. Watching the news or a movie or listening to music will show which words and phrases are most common in the everyday usage of the language.

Learning a new language is no small feat. It requires time, energy and patience. The rewards, however, are incredible, so I encourage you to put in the time and effort required. Speaking another language is a great cognitive skill too, giving your brain a workout, Duolingo also has a resource on its website, for finding language gatherings and events for the languages it offers which has to be a further reason to try it out.

So what are you waiting for?