There are many reasons for wanting to speak the lingua franca of another people; travel, business, education, marriage, retirement, personal pleasure, even family or friends among many others.
Indeed, it is no small thing to speak Spanish, parle Francaise, or sprechenze Deutcsh, but the prestige, financial gain, personal satisfaction, and even the envy of peers that can accompany this easy-to-cultivate skill can be extremely rewarding. If you’re not an expat yet, don’t start packing your bags yet, you’ve got a bit of “work” to do first.
If you are already an expat, learning or improving your communication skills in a foreign language can be a moot point. There you are, one of the millions of “fugitives” from the US, UK or another country, now surrounded by new horizons, landscapes, culture, daily life and a foreign language that you must master as quickly and skillfully as possible. for necessity. .
Perhaps you would like to study abroad; Fashion design or the culinary arts in Paris with French as a means of communication. Learning Renaissance art in Milan or Rome will certainly be enriched by your fluency in Italian. Delving into architecture or brewing in Germany will be much more rewarding if you blend into their society using your best German.
If you want to immerse yourself in Mayan anthropology or culture in the Yucatan, Mayan or Nahuatl would serve you even better than Spanish. You can also just duplicate and learn both languages. (Yes, you certainly can!)
Exploring the mysteries of oriental antiquities, culture or martial arts in China’s Yellow River Valley requires at least some communication skills in one of the Chinese dialects, don’t you think?
Acquiring knowledge of ancient and modern agricultural techniques or perhaps the secrets of Yoga in the vast expanses of exotic India will be much more enriching with one of the local dialects of the country that flows like honey from your tongue.
Would you like to learn Karate, Judo or the art of making Sushi in Japan? Do you think knowing how to speak Japanese could make things easier?
You could be thinking of perfecting your Tango dancing skills in Buenos Aires, or improving your Salsa steps in Cuba or Colombia, then Spanish could pave the way for your progress. The list could go on and on, but just think how the “right” foreign language could not only make it possible, but also expand and deepen your search.
But, you’re thinking, how can you, with limited time and resources, and perhaps even more limited patience, make decent progress in a reasonably short time? You may be wondering, “Can I really, at my age, develop good communication skills in a new language?”
Yes, you can and you will if you use some of my “quick tricks” to enhance your language learning experience and incorporate your potential new language into your current everyday life.
