Do You want to Speak Like a Native? - Then Go Learn With The Natives!

Learn French in Bordeaux, Spanish in Buenos Aires, or Mandarin in Beijing

city photos: Learn the Language

There is certainly no better or faster way to learn a foreign language than studying it formally in the country of origin. A mixture of quality language lessons, immersion with the local people, and the motivation given by being able to practice what you learn everyday, means that learning a language abroad is by far the most effective (and fun) way to learn a language. Not only will you learn quicker, but you will be able to understand and speak the language much more effctively as well.

Why Learn Abroad?

Come on...I think you know the answer to this one. Why try to learn a language at home or in a classroom near your home when you could learn Spanish while dancing the Tango in Buenos Aries, or learn French while tasting the wines in the vineyards of Bordeaux. Not to mention learning Arabic while viewing the pyramids from your window, or learning Japanese while drinking sake in Tokyo. This has got be the best way to learn a new language.

Not only do you learn the language, you also learn the culture and traditions that surround the language

Where Can I Study?

Spanish - Learn Spanish in Spain, Argentina, Bolivia, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Chile, and Peru

French - Learn French in France, Canada, Switzerland

Italian - Learn Italian in Italy

German - Learn German in Germany and Switzerland

Japanese - Learn Japanese in Japan

Mandarin Chinese - Learn Mandarin in China

Arabic - Learn Arabic in Egypt

Check Out Prices

These days there are language courses in many countries around the world and most languages have the opportunity to study in the country of origin along with possibly other countries that speak the language natively. All language learning holidays are organised through professional companies that specialise in arranging every aspect of your language learning and vacation needs. As well as the classroom lessons, they can arrange accomodation for you and the examination applications. In fact everything you could possibly need to have a great vacation and learn to speak and read a foreign language is given.

What Are My Options?

There are many different options to learning a language abroad: You can choose what city you want to learn in, the number of weeks of learning you wish to take part in (usually anywhere between 2 and 52), the type of course you want (business language, intensive courses, travel courses), and the type of accomodation you want.

Accomodation

For the best results you should choose the local family home-stay option. This will mean that you get exposure to the language 24/7. It will also mean that you will get a much better feel for the culture, the food and the people than you would by staying in a sanitized tourist hotel. This is also an excellent budget option as it is much cheaper than staying in a hotel. It also is good for the grass roots economy of a city as you will be helping a local family (or individual) directly.

If however, you do not like the idea of staying with a family or another individual, there is a second budget option: You can choose to stay in a shared apartment with other students, or in some cases in the teachers' apartment block. Sharing with other students may see more appealing to some but it is certainly less beneficial to you learning the language.

If you prefer something a little more comfortable, there is always the private apartment option. This will obviously give you more privacy, but is a sight more expensive also. You could also arrange your own accomodation in the local hotel system. If you go this route, however, you have to look deep down and make sure you are committed to learning the language. Will you go out on an evening to sample the food, the culture, and the people? Will you practice the language whatever chance you get? If the answer is yes then the accomodation does not matter. If you feel that you might nip to McDonalds and avoid everyone you meet that doesn't speak English, then you may be wasting a perfect opportunity. If you think this may be you...then go for the homestay. I guarantee it will be more rewarding in the long run, and, along with the home-cooked food, the honest local conversation, and the chance to delve deep into the culture through a lengthy relationship with your locals, it will give you both a better grasp of the language and of the country that speaks it.

Which Company is The Best?

To be honest, there are many companies out there and most of them are very much the same. Some of them offer different courses and combine the language classes with other activities like dancing and cooking. These are quite nice ideas but often come with a premium price. I think that the majority of people—especially in the current economical climate—want something that is good value for money. You want it to be a good quality course, safe and friendly accomodation, and a reliable and well priced service.

I have only recently come upon a website called Language International and have fallen in love with it. I have to admit to begin with I was a bit unsure as their website was a little on the plain side [they have just renovated it and it looks much better], but they have an excellent search function and set themselves ahead of the rest by showing the courses available with prices and duration within a click. They have relationships with many language schools and you can see exactly what they offer straight away on the page. They are also very competitive; In fact they guarantee that their price will be the lowest. Now you can't say fairer than that can you. They make their money through small commisions from the schools that they book through so you don't have to pay them anything.

Check out Language International they can set you up with the language learning holiday of a lifetime, for the best price you will find on the net.