The next Travel Myth Buster Series excuse I would like to address for not incorporating international travel into one’s life is:

Another common excuse based on misconceptions. While much of the world DOES speak languages other than English, this should NOT make you anxious about traveling abroad.

1. English has developed as the global language of travel: As the world continues to globalize, English has been adopted as the international language of travel. Now I’m certainly not saying that everyone in the world now speaks English, as this is definitely NOT the case, but in most places you travel to, especially cities and other locations popular with tourists, you will find at least a few people that speak English. They may not speak perfect English, but you can usually find someone with at least basic knowledge of the language, and with simple phrases and a lot of hand movements you can normally get your point across fine. Stay in the nicer hotels, or in the touristy sections of town and you will likely find a number of people who speak very good English.

2. Developing a language base for travel can be quite painless: While it is true that you can get by in most places just using English, it’s still nice to have a little knowledge of the local language to aid you in your travels. This is where most people get discouraged. They think back to the mind-numbing hours they spent in high school Spanish or French class, and get completely turned off to the idea. What they fail to realize, is that you don’t need to spend hours on book study memorizing tenses or irregular verbs to develop a language base to travel on. All you really need is a few practical words and phrases to put in your travel arsenal. Throw in some listening comprehension from an interesting language learning podcast, and you will be well on your way to a developing a basic, travel-oriented knowledge of the necessary language. If you have more time to put into learning the language, by all means do, you WILL be rewarded. But if not, don’t be discouraged, a few hours in the weeks leading up to your trip will give you enough to get by.

Learn New Languages Online for Free:

A little language knowledge will enrich your experience, and the locals will undoubtedly appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to learn THEIR language.

To help you get started, I’ve put together a guide to The 6 Most Influential Languages in the World, and How to Learn them Online for Free.

Further Reading:

For tips on how to effectively learn a new language, check out Travel Minx’s 10 Tips from a Language Learner and Teacher

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