Overcoming the Language Barrier

Don't Let The Language Barrier Stop You From Going On Vacation
Lots and lots of people get worried about traveling overseas on their vacation because any language barrier there may be.  Even if your only language is English there are many things you can do to make sure that you can communicate with the people around you with ease.

You will need to always make sure that youspeak slowly, simply, and politely.  Try and use simple words, and pronoune every letter.  Begin each request with 'please',  and it can be effective to just use a noun as a full sentence.   Try to avoid using slang, as even people who can understand English will find this difficult to understand.

Use words that are generally understood internationally.  So if you are in Europe try to say 'holiday' rather than 'vacation', as they are more likely to understand it.  Another example is to use the word 'toilet' instead of 'bathroom' or

You have to try not to be self-conscious, and use hand signals and body language to help communicate what you are trying to say.   Any words you do know in the local language, use them, the locals will be pleased that you have tried to speak their language.  If you are going to become self-cnscious then the communication process will be  much more difficult.  Be melodramitic and also exaggerate the local accent.

Best tip of all is practice, practice, practice!  Read all you can like, posters, multilingual signs, graffiti in bathrooms, timetables and newspaper headlines.  Tune into foreigh radio stations, listen to other languages as much as you can.  The more that you can practice, the better you will become.

It is a good idea to have a notepad handy and then you can write down small phrases or words that you hear or learn.  Words and numbers can be much easier to understand when they are written.  Keep important phrases written down in the notepad, such as ‘I am vegetarian,’ or ‘where is a doctor.’

If you do not know a word, try an educated guess.   If you are wrong it does not really matter, it can even make your vacation a little more interesting. 

If you are really concerned then you can buy yourself a small phrase book before your vacation, and this will have all the useful phrases such as directions, food etc.  It will also contain notes on pronounciation.

Finally, relax, and don’t worry about making mistakes.  You will be surprised at how well you communicate with a 20 word vocabulary and by just making an effort.