Comments on: Don’t Learn a Foreign Language

By: Ken Brown

Ken Brown — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:50:39 +0000

No need to learn ANY Language then. Not English either. And many people raised in English speaking countries do not?.

By: SB

SB — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:47:55 +0000

I agree with the other two dissenting commenters. Really disappointed with this post-immigrants who never learn the language of their host countries are villified, whilst tourists who proudly refuse to learn any of the language are hailed as geniuses….Obviously you don’t have to become fluent in every language in the world, but just choosing the language of a region/country that excites you can enrich your travels 1000x fold. I’ve done this with Spanish Italian and Portuguese, being fluent in the first two and currently learning the last.

Of course, it’s easy to have this attitude as an English speaker, but I’ve found even at home my relationships with people from Italy/Spanish speaking countries intensified so much more when we began speaking their native tongue. Conversation went from the perfunctory “how are yous” to meaningful and interesting topics (and fast friendships) very quickly. Not to mention how much more I was able to learn about the culture just from speaking to people and how many more friends I made.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 02:23:10 +0000

I can definatly relate!

I love those conversations where you’re both speaking your own language and still communicating with each other despite the fact that neither of you understands a word.

My favorite was asking for directions when I was in Italy. It worked out really well until I got to where I was going and my tour bas had already left (oops!) also a good lesson in not taking tours if you can avoid them! 😉

By: Tyler Muse

Tyler Muse — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:07:08 +0000

Really great perspective on the non-verbal approach. There is so much to learn from a culture by just getting to know the way they speak. Cultures in India, South America, and Japan rely heavily on physical language to get the words across and knowing what each of these nonverbal elements mean can get you by (and save you from a lot of trouble). Great article!

By: Russell

Russell — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:14:31 +0000

This is an interesting article but wait until you need to rent a flat or do a business deal with someone using only non verbal language. It’s true you can survive anywhere without the language, but you aren’t getting anything like the whole picture as you might think you are. For example, it was only when I started learning Korean that I realised how much racist abuse was being directed at me! Ignorance is bliss for some, but I’d rather be in the know if I’m living surrounded by racist people who resent me being there(although they hide it well)

By: Forest

Forest — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:28:28 +0000

I took minor amounts of french in high school, and I have taken some Italian classes in the last year. I took a trip to Italy in march/april of this year, and I was able to function quite well. My French however, not so good. I have been able to travel through France, Austria, the Netherlands, amongst others, without knowing the language. I really do think that you can get by, without knowing the language. You really can mime your way through, if I can do it, anyone can. I suck at languages!

-Josh

By: Olivier

Olivier — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:04:55 +0000

I agree and had to resort to this kind of communication in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand more than once. But in every country I go, before going —more precisely: while going— I make a point to learn how to say “hello”, “please”, “thank you” and “goodbye”, and how to salute. That’s not much but I feel it’s good to be able to show a little respect and friendliness this way. 🙂
Thanks for our site!

By: Brian Barker

Brian Barker — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:13:58 +0000

I agree with Bill Chapman

Apparently President Barack Obama wants everyone to learn a foreign language?

The British learn French, the Australians study Japanese and the Americans prefer Spanish. Yet this leaves Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Arabic out of the equation
.
Why not teach a common neutral non-national language, in all countries, in all schools, worldwide?

An interesting video can be seen at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8837438938991452670 and a glimpse of the global language Esperanto can be seen at http://www.lernu.net

By: Bill Chapman

Bill Chapman — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:15:47 +0000

The title was provocative and eye-catching. However, I would not like your readers to think that they should not make any efforts to learn the languager(s) of the country they are visiting.

Life is too short to learn every language on the face of the earth, so you need to make choices. I make use of Esperanto, and I recommend it to your readers. Take a look at http://www.esperanto.net

By: NomadicMatt

NomadicMatt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:37:28 +0000

@pam: you win the challenge lol