Knowing English is a great way to learn about the country in which you have decided to spend your vacation. And it is also a way to protect yourself from unpleasant situations that a tourist can easily get into without knowing English.
English can help you save money in markets, shops and taxis. Therefore, your desire to tighten it up before the vacation is completely justified, and for sure you will carry out your plan using our advice.
In the rhythmic life of a big city, we do not have free time to tighten our language throughout the year. As a rule, the prospective traveler has at most a month before the vacation in order to bring his language level to a good state.
Now let's talk about what you need to do to achieve this.
Tip # 1: Learn a few dozen conversational phrases for different situations
Install a mobile application with a phrasebook, download it, or buy a book in a store. Learn simple phrases that will come in handy at the airport, customs, shop, restaurant and on the street. Don't forget the emergency block - just in case. Think about how you will spend your time, where you will go and with whom you will communicate - for all these cases you should have phrases worked out. This activity has several advantages:
- You get the necessary base for all travel situations, while learning the correct, well-structured phrases.
- You practice pronunciation (therefore, the best option is a mobile application with voice acting by a native speaker).
- You see examples of the correct construction of sentences and questions, subconsciously project these schemes onto the construction of your own phrases.
- You expand your vocabulary.
As you can see, there are quite a few advantages. As for phrasebooks, there are plenty of them too. For example, the mobile application "Phrasebook for Tourist LITE", where there is a breakdown by topic, transcription, voice acting, individual words that are used in sentences, as well as many other functions.
Tip # 2: Learn the numbers
Oddly enough, many people forget about numbers, focusing on something more complex. And when traveling, difficulties arise even when making payments in a supermarket. And if we still remember 1, 2, 3, then problems arise with 258 or 5 894. What can we say that ignorance of numbers or their incorrect interpretation can cause misunderstandings or even very unpleasant situations! You can learn the numbers yourself, or you can use flashcards or spaced-repetition mobile apps. You can install Memrise: this application asks you to learn words and phrases for simple everyday situations that will come in handy on vacation. For example, when ordering food in a restaurant.
Tip # 3: Find a Good Tutor
This is the most effective way to quickly and efficiently tighten your tongue. Explain your goal to the teacher and decide on the direction - spoken English or a language for travel. The tutor will offer you this or that program after diagnosing the level of your current knowledge. As a rule, 10 lessons are enough to get a good conversation, practice building sentences and questions, and refresh your vocabulary. Once again, we emphasize that the tutor must clearly understand what task he faces and what results you expect to receive over a specific period.
Lessons with a native speaker will be even more effective. If you are going to Bali, don't look for a local - go to the British. Thus, you will not only remember your language base, but also improve your pronunciation.
Perhaps you are wondering: "Where to look for this Briton?" Look for him on the platforms for finding tutors on skype. This is the easiest way to get quality knowledge quickly and cheaply. Good tutors work on the Preply platform. Here you can choose a certified English teacher from London who has extensive experience in the area of interest to you, has earned a high rating and has excellent reviews from former students. And all this - at an affordable price and schedule convenient for you.
Sometimes 3-5 lessons are enough to remember English, speak up and be 100% prepared for the vacation. On Preply you can agree on any number of lessons, without any restrictions.
Tip # 4: Watch videos and listen to podcasts about the country you are going to
Of course, this should be done in English. The easiest way to get the video content you want is to find it on the YouTube channel. This will allow not only to pump the language, but also to get acquainted with the culture, make plans and schedule visits to local attractions. And also knowing the peculiarities of the country will provide you with sincere sympathy and friendly attitude of local residents.
Find suitable podcasts at VOA Learning English, 6 Minute English, or AudioEnglish. Choose content about the country you are going to or dialogues for travel. What is great about thematic podcasts, in addition to effective listening training, is that they create the anticipation of a future vacation. They're also handy because you can listen to them anywhere, even on the way to work.
Tip # 5: Study a country guide in English
You can buy the desired guide in online stores or order it on international platforms such as Amazon. This will help you improve your reading, learn new interesting information, and prepare for the full vacation.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in our advice. And just 30 days is enough to properly improve your English and make an exciting program for your vacation. And then any, even the shortest trip, will turn into an exciting journey!
