How many times have you been on holiday and one of you has a smattering of the local language and the other doesn’t? The person who knows the language must be the translator while the other relies on their partner for the service and often feels left out. Or maybe you’re the one who knows the language and you feel put upon. How many times do you have to translate the currency or the menu?!
Wouldn’t it be great if you could share the load – and in so doing, share the love of learning a new language?
There are plenty of advantages of learning a language as a couple, and at The Language Guru we recognise this through our new Special Couples Offer.
You both need to want to learn though, and here are some tips to making the shared experience a success. Bear in mind it’s possible one might have more of a flare for languages than the other, but helping your partner learn is a really caring thing you can do for them.
Arrange No English Days
Use your chosen new language to talk about everyday items and practice as much as possible.
Find a local café or restaurant which offers special evenings or tastings around the food or drink of your chosen language
Or simply go to, for example, tapas bars and only speak Spanish.
Watch films in your chosen language
You may not understand everything, but the more you do it, the more the language will become familiar. And try not to read the English subtitles!
Do activities around the language
Learn to cook using native methods and with as much local food as you can find here. Use cook books in the language and look up those words you don’t understand so it’s a more immersive experience. Have friends round so you can show off your new skills.
Or read books and magazines in the language.
Test each other daily
Make use of any free time you have by having fun vocabulary tests and give each other a small prize when they get something right.
Sing together
This is a great way of practicing a language and it’s even more enjoyable if you sing with your partner. Who doesn’t love a spot of Charles Aznavour or Ricky Martin?!
Help each other
Learning together can be a great experience. You always have someone to practice with, even when you leave the country, and you can encourage and support each other on the learning journey. It can be helpful to point out each other’s mistakes but be gentle, so you avoid an argument!
Learn with other couples
Make it a fun group event by learning with some of your coupled friends. Have competitions, go on holiday together, or if you’re going to be working abroad and need to learn a new language, you’ll feel less isolated when you get there if you can already feel comfortable communicating in everyday situations.
The Language Guru will help you every step of the way.
Good luck!