Traveling is, perhaps, one of those things that just cannot be underrated. Going to another country or, even better, around the whole world has lots of benefits, from learning new languages and cultures to improving the state of your physical and mental health. And although traveling has been largely limited in the light of recent events, we can still look back at all those benefits that it can offer us and motivate us not to give up and travel despite all the hardships presented to us by a coronavirus, yet, with a little bit more care.
The Endless Opportunities
Any kind of journey, be it a physical temporary relocation to another country or a metaphorical one, implying the process of studying, is extremely useful for the number of opportunities it provides. Going abroad and living there even for just a little while allows you to view the world from another perspective. This initially leads to looking at familiar things differently and, hence, basically “reliving” them. There was an instance when a review of The Word Point thanked the translator not just for his work but for what that word meant. The guy kept going on and on about how his life has changed and how he became a new person, all thanks to just one document translation needed for a journey to another country.
Getting back to the practical benefits, it was mentioned that traveling can help in learning new languages. And indeed it does. By traveling, you immerse yourself in another culture, meaning that you adapt to life in that country, which also imminently applies to the language. Now, you may ask, why learning languages is important? Well, there are so many answers to that question, yet, the main idea is that it feeds your brain, gives you an alternative perspective, and improves your career opportunities. Another review of The Word Point once provided that the number of languages you know equals the number of times, by which the probability for you to be accepted for the job is higher. For example, you know 2 languages, so you are 2 times more likely to get a job. So, attending a translation course might also be a reasonable idea. Still, how can traveling help in learning languages? Here are some of the ways.
- Learning written language in its natural habitat. Yes, languages are alive, and learning them where they live is the best. Street signs, restaurant menus, store names, and many more instances that can help you read better in the language of your destination country.
- Learning how the language sounds. Phonetics is an extremely important part of the language and listening to how native speakers apply it helps you better not only with speaking but also reading and understanding.
- Immersing into the culture. Not only you hear and read another language, you also become one of its users. This allows you a great deal of a different perspective on familiar things.
- Learning dialects. This is something the regular translation apps might not always help you with. Hearing, reading, and speaking using regional dialects is quite a unique experience, which should not be missed.
- Learning a specific vocabulary. As a tourist, you imminently learn some very specific aspects of the new language. Booking a hotel, asking for directions, or calling any services, all of that is learned for sure and will certainly be reused as you travel more.
- Practical application. You might have learned the language before you traveled, however, now you must use it in order to survive. So, as you travel, you learn the language much faster due to the relatively stressful, yet, natural conditions of learning it.
- Learning the interconnectedness between the languages. As you travel more and visit more countries, you can hear or see that some languages are quite similar. You’ll certainly hear similar tones and sounds in Spain and Italy, in Ukraine and Belarus, or in China and Korea.
- Focused learning. As you travel, you rarely think of anything else rather than exploring (if you’re not traveling solely for business purposes, of course). Think of traveling as meditation. This relative peace allows you to focus on the language you learn and, thus, learn it much faster.
- Agitation of learning. If traveling doesn’t serve you as a meditation, it will more likely serve you as an emotional booster. As you feel better emotionally, you actually learn new skills better, which also applies to the languages.
- Making friends. That’s quite a benefit on its own, of course. Yet, having a native speaker friend largely increases your chances of successful language learning because such a friend may correct you when you’re wrong or explain how people usually speak in this language.
There’s Always a Reason to Travel
Traveling is a true miracle that we have in our lives, so missing out on an opportunity to visit another country is quite irrational and unreasonable, to say the least. Although it became quite limited recently, there’s no point in giving up, especially if you’re keen to learn and experience. Traveling can seriously boost your learning not only of the different languages, so going abroad is a great intellectual stimulus, especially when you feel stuck and unproductive.
BIO:
Mark Blackwood built his career on teaching others to learn, experience, and share knowledge with others. Every day, Mark works hard by searching for new useful trends that can change people’s lives forever. His ultimate goal is that each of us not only had a story to share but also has all the confidence needed to actually share it.