Learning a little of the language of the country that you are visiting may not always come top of your agenda and in truth, being British and therefore speaking the international language of the world tends to remove the motivation that other world citizens might feel. Even if you do know a few words, it can still be tempting to let the locals do the work, the thinking being that their command of the English language is likely to be oh so much better than your command of theirs.
There are, however, some very good reasons why it is advisable to have at least a ‘smattering’ of the language. For one thing, you are less likely to get ripped off by the local taxi driver. For another, you can understand what you are ordering in a restaurant, even if the English translation on the menu isn’t so great. Finally, it is always nice to know if people are talking about you ‘behind your back’.
More importantly, though, making the effort will really enrich your holiday experience by helping to give you an insight into the way the local people live, think and feel. In Spain, it is not just understanding that ‘ma?ana’ literally means ’tomorrow’ that is important, or even understanding that it is used to mean ‘at some unspecified time in the future’ (although knowing this could potentially save you much anxiety and frustration!), but understanding the culture and mentality that is behind it. It doesn’t come from laziness, but from an attitude to life that better understands what is truly important. When you understand something of the local language, you can more easily embrace the way of life, even if only for a few short weeks, not to mention earning the undying respect of your hosts.
Because the British do not need to make as much of an effort with languages as other nations, there is a natural tendency to feel enormous embarrassment when we get things wrong. We are, however, extremely tolerant of the mistakes made by those who attempt to speak our language, so why do we think that they would feel any differently?
Compared to many other European languages, such as Greek for example, Spanish is relatively easy to learn, as many of the words sound very similar to our own. Spending just a few minutes each day learning new words and practising what you have already learned will have you speaking conversational Spanish in no time at all.
Of course, there is a huge range of courses available on tape or CD that you can listen to during the train journey to work or while you are doing some mind-numbing chore at home, but there are also lots of online resources that you can use completely free of charge. Try taking a look at sites such as www.studyspanish.com which offer free tutorials including pronunciation, vocabulary, verbs and grammar, as well as offering notes about the culture of the country. Just a few minutes a day is all it takes!