Can I pick up a language abroad?
Hi, I'm Chris. Head teacher at OuiCommunicate.
We're home to speakers of English who wish for a step up from traditional French classes by means of bilingual learning.
In this article, we'll discuss the question of picking up a language abroad.
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Can I pick up a language abroad?
In the question alone, there are different terms that we must examine before attempting to answer it. The verb “can” refers to whether it is possible or not. And the phrasal verb “pick up” doesn’t quite indicate the level at which we can expect to speak the foreign language by solely relying on our interactions with locals in the foreign country. In these types of questions, it’s essential to examine what we mean by “picking up a language”. It can indeed be quite complex.
As we know, different social situations call for different uses of the language. A job interview or a light purchase at a shop don’t require the same level of speaking. Reading a lease agreement, arguing with a driver in the context of a collision, telling someone at a fair ground “hey you skipped the queue”, telling a kid who’s not your own not to play so rough, suggesting to your neighbour that perhaps it’s time they cut their side of the hedge, or delivering a product presentation at a company don’t all call for the same skills. Communicating a basic piece of information is not the same as getting a response for a person in a more subtle way.
When we speak and when we write, we must at times be charming, convincing, humorous, respectful, confident, curious, optimistic, to name a few. These are all expressed by our way of using language. Saying “Hello my name is Bob” is different from saying “I will definitely consider your offer and get back to you later.”
The same verb “je voudrais” (I would like) is not expressed with the same level of authority in the context of buying slices of cheese at a shop, organizing a wedding and telling the event planner where you would like the flowers or explaining to your neighbour that you would like to sleep at night and could they please turn the music down after 10 PM. Each aim to create different effects and responses.
Taking into account the different communicative needs, the initial question soon becomes “Will I be able to handle all these situations and am I sure I’m doing it right?” We must perhaps examine which are the linguistic tools that we will pick up and those that we won’t. Which is the part of the language we won’t learn by simply being abroad?
A few real life scenarios
Each of us has met a neighbour, a Uber driver or a corner store owner who’s been in our country for a number of years but still doesn’t speak our language well. From this, there might be several explanations: they are either stupid, lazy, have no interest in languages or simply the living proof that being in business and interacting every day with local speakers doesn’t always lead to fantastic results.
I myself have encountered many such people in Belgium, the UK and in America. Whether it was my Polish neighbour who’d been in Belgium for over 30 years, Green Card lottery winners who still can’t use the past tense in English despite having a job in America, the Turkish delivery guy who brings our pizzas, customer support staff who pick up the phone in English all day long and that I can barely manage to understand…the examples are all around us and noticeable by all. Why do all these professionals not seem to progress in their language skills?
If we agree that a spoken sentence has a precise function in a social situation, we can then ask ourselves how many such sentences there are and whether we will encounter them all by simply being abroad. A shopkeeper might have a professional vocabulary that doesn’t extend past hello/goodbye, understanding numbers and understanding the question “Do you have?”
They might have less of a need to engage in the language skills that will be useful when having to attend a meeting at their kid’s school in the case of disciplinary action. Our question now becomes: when will they pick up the English or French skills that will allow them to reassure the principal that the matter is in good hands, or to explain the recent behaviour changes of their child, or the steps they intend to take to make sure the disciplinary problem doesn’t happen again. These types of discussions call for different vocabulary and levels of precision.
Let's project ourselves abroad!
We’ve just landed in our dream country and with just a few basic notions of the language, we start our new life. How exciting ! Now to find a local. Oh there’s one! Excuse me sir, do you have time for a conversation? And if you don’t mind, can you please point out my mistakes and provide me with a few examples?”
Evidently, this type of scenario is unlikely to happen. The conversations we have abroad will be based on the communicative needs of the other participants, just as they are at home. If there’s no information in it for them, they simply won’t speak to you. These are after all, the universally agreed-upon rules of conversation. I want something from you / You want something from me.
The next best thing is to fall back on observation and listening. Some suggest watching films or listening to the radio but here, two problems arise. How do you transform your listening into an active tool that you can use? Statistically, a learner would have to encounter as many points of the language as there are. They would have to encounter them more than once, notice them, analyze them and self-explain in a way that leads to it being a practical tool.
We can take as an example the sentence “Ayez fini avant que je revienne.” Let’s suppose that in a film, two actors are painting a wall and the third tells them to finish before he comes back. The first issue is to properly hear this sentence, to pause it and analyze it. Now the clock is ticking and you start your work on this sentence. The subtitles might not have translated it properly because this tense doesn’t exist in English. It’s called a past imperative. In slow motion, you will have to find the name of this tense and research which verbs can be used with it and in which situations it sounds natural. Keep the results in mind for future reference because now you will be waiting weeks or months before you encounter another similar sentence in this tense and you do the process all over again. Or perhaps you can try you luck and try to place “Ayez mangé” or “Ayez visité” which means nothing at all.
If this example doesn’t seem convincing, we can look at other fields of life such as sports or music and ask ourselves if observing a violinist or a football team will make us knowledgeable in those fields. A probable reason for which there is a professional commentary team is that the average viewer does not understand the tactical choices or the technical side of the game. More simplistically, we have all spent hours in supermarkets and probably weeks. Does it make us any more knowledgeable in how to set the pricing, promote products and organize the aisles?Not in the slightest.
Another factor to consider is that not all native speakers have the same level of language. We can easily imagine that a legal practice will entertain different discussions than a group of men standing next to a cement mixer. Their use of vocabulary will change accordingly.
Since even the most educated (or at least linguistically able) speakers of the language are not teachers, they will usually not be able to explain the technical side of the language. It is the typical problem we see in tandem partners, who very often limit their input to telling us “better ways” of saying something.
Because humans like to enjoy peace of mind, they usually avoid making efforts each time they can. And correcting you is seen as an effort. It also has the inconvenience of breaking up the flow of the conversation as well as seeming rude.
Most often, the locals around us forgive our mistakes and accept them as our way of speaking as a foreigner. The various mistakes and mispronunciations can sometimes go on for years or decades. As we settle into the new country, we get caught up in other priorities than sharpening our speaking skills, and put that priority on hold. We fall into survival mode, we develop speaking skills that help us get by and use these same unpolished skills years later. Nothing guarantees that we will ever go back to learning properly once we are more settled.
Coming from English, you will have to tone down the enthusiasm because French doesn’t express “feelings” with intonation as English does. Apart from that, no problemo!
Checklist and self-assessment
1. Which are the social contexts in which I will likely speak once I am abroad?
2. Who do I imagine myself speaking with?
3. How many hours of active learning will I be doing in a week through my conversations?
4. How many human beings will I likely be exchanging with over an average month?
5. How will I know with certainty that I am not dragging on mistakes for years?
6. How many sustained (in-depth) conversations will I have on average over a month?
7. Do I ever have in-depth conversations in my own country? Who with? Will I find this person abroad?
8. Which type of vocabulary will I likely need abroad?
9. Will locals encourage me to speak well or will they accept anything I say?
10. Am I sure to meet good examples of how the language should best be used?
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But there is also good news!
It would be unrealistic to say that being abroad presents no advantages at all in learning a language. In my experience, there is a definite increase in specialized vocabulary that is directly linked to the realities of our new life. Words for motor vehicle inspection, VAT, immigration paperwork, and so many others. As soon as we ask for a fitting room in a shop we learn the words for coat hanger, trying on, maximum 3 items, among others.
In terms of the vocabulary, there will be an increase in nouns (words that “name” things) and actions (verbs). Living abrooad creates more of a need for precise listening skills to understand the locals. Example: please sign here, fitting rooms are over there, please take a seat, etc.
There is also the fact that the foreign language remains at the forefront of our mind as a tool that has to be used at any moment and that can help with memorization. When we’ve said “Excuse, me can I have…” a few times, it becomes more automatic. There’s much less of a chance to put the foreign language on the side and forget about it.
Another undeniable factor is the presence of thousands – if not millions – of native speakers around us. On paper at least, it provides us with an unlimited amount of people with which to exchange.
The constant written reminders of the foreign language are seen on shop signs, names of products in these shops, street names, advertisements, restaurant menu, bills and official paperwork. All this has the psychological effect of making the language more “real” and not just belonging in a textbook.
Because the word is now linked to real situation or object, memorization might be made easier. Repeated exposure to these situations might also transform into their own little language lesson without seeming like one.
Other less quantifiable factors for improvement could include a sense of motivation and a desire to do well. Some learners might enjoy feeling as is they were carried by the wave around them as the language takes on a more organic form. Living abroad in full immersion comes with definite advantages.
To conclude
The question of whether it is preferable to learn a language abroad or with structured classes at home might best be answered by a comparison with other “sink or swim” situations. There is no doubt that unless we are on holiday for a few years abroad, there will be a certain need to learn fast and with a certain degree of pressure from “the real world”.
Keeping this in mind, it will be each person’s decision whether it is better to first learn to swim in the shallow end and work on our breathing and style, or to be thrown in the deep end at the risk of doing doggy paddle.
We can ask ourselves if it is better to learn how to be a sailor on dry land in a sailing school or during a stormy crossing. Is it best to learn karate by fighting first and analyzing the technique at a later stage? Is it best to first eat the mushrooms in forest and then open a book on mushrooms? Is it better to first raise kids and then consult a book on parenting? Is it better to first put money in stocks and then learn how the stock market functions?
We can even ask ourselves if anything in life is done following the principle “do first, learn later”?
