The Language Of Lockdown: why now is the time to learn a foreign tongue

British tourists piss me off. I have long said that my enjoyment of a holiday is inversely proportional to the number of British people there are around.

It’s not because (and these are admittedly major generalisations) they tend to be loud and drunk all the time. And it’s not because of any sort of institutional arrogance that dates back to the days of the British Empire. It’s because, in my extensive experience, not only do British tourists not speak the language of the place they’re visiting, but that they don’t even try.

I don’t expect a Spanish person (for example) to walk into my local pub, stride up to the barman and say: “¿Una jarra de cerveza, por favor?”. So when I overhear a group of Brits at a bar on the Costa Del Sol shout in their broad Brummie/Cockney/Scouse accents: “Two San Miguels and a Pina Colada please, mate”, I can’t help but feel that it’s rude, ignorant behaviour that gives the British an even worse reputation abroad than we already have.

European Commission statistics show that fewer than 35% of adults in the UK can speak at least one foreign language. That’s a lower figure than in every single one of the 27 countries in the EU. Of course, a good part of that disparity can be explained by the status of English as the global language of business, and many EU countries therefore making the teaching of English in schools compulsory. But on the other hand, English is widely regarded as being a particularly difficult language to learn for non-native speakers, and yet they still manage it: foreign language take-up is over 80% in 13 of the 27 EU nations.

To my mind, if millions of Europeans can master English, there is absolutely no reason for any British adult not to be able to speak a foreign language that will probably be easier to learn in comparison. And people who don’t, and especially those who don’t try, are missing out on a huge chunk of the atmosphere and culture of the places they visit. Allow me to give you an example from my own personal experience.

Last year, I went on holiday to Japan, a country I’d always wanted to visit (you can read about all my Japanese adventures here). While I was there, I visited the Peace Park and museum in Hiroshima where the atomic bomb went off in 1945. I was one of the only Western-looking people around, and outside the museum I was cornered by a group of primary school-age children who’d clearly been tasked to practice their English on anyone they could find.

So when the children all shouted: “HELLO!” at me, and I responded with a bow and: “Konichiwa!”, they were stunned. When they followed up with: “WHERE ARE YOU FROM?” and I replied with: “Igirisu-jin desu” (which translates to ‘I am from the UK), their jaws hit the floor. You know the stereotypical Japanese ‘OHHHHHH!’ noise they make when excited? They all made that noise. It was absolutely adorable. We carried on having a basic conversation for a couple of minutes before they all bellowed “THANK YOU!”, I replied with the equivalent: “Arigato gozaimasu!”, and they all sprinted off again. 

I’d spent the three months prior to the trip learning some basic tourist-level Japanese and commonly-seen symbols that might help me out. It wasn’t easy at the time, but for such a heart-warming moment like that, all the effort had been made worthwhile. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that all the Japanese I was able to use in restaurants, bars, trains and hotels, and the warm, friendly responses I got from the locals as a result, was what really made that trip. Without it, I’d have been just A. N. Other tourist, taking holiday snaps to show off to their mates and not even scratching the surface of the country or its culture.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of learning a language. It can unlock parts of the world and gems of knowledge that you would never be able to experience otherwise. So if you’re sitting at home during this coronavirus lockdown, and you’re reading this because you’re bored, furloughed or just short of work to do, this is your golden opportunity. Pick a language or a country that interests you, and start with the basics. If it grabs your attention and you decide to stick with it, the possibilities are endless.

In January 2018, I made a New Year’s resolution that I wanted to learn Spanish. For various reasons, I visit Spain on a regular basis and I felt guilty that I could speak no more than a few words and phrases. So I downloaded a handy app called Duolingo onto my phone. It’s a fun, free app that allows you to take bite-size lessons on any of the world’s major languages. Each lesson is only a couple of minutes long, so if you’re watching something on TV, you can fit one into an ad break.

I never looked back. At the time of writing, I have now used Duolingo for 832 consecutive days. And apart from the three aforementioned months when I switched to Japanese, all of those days have been working through Duolingo’s extensive array of Spanish lessons. I only spend 5-10 minutes a day on it, but I’m now only a few weeks away from completing the entire course.

As a result, my Spanish is now at such a level that I can converse with the locals in detailed sentences that are (more or less!) grammatically correct. On my last trip there, just a couple of weeks before the coronavirus crisis took hold, I got talking to some locals who didn’t speak English. They gave me a great tip on a bar for watching the Real Madrid v Barcelona game that weekend. They understood my questions, and I understood their response and the directions they gave me. Without my Spanish, that never would have happened.

Just that small effort each day over the last two and a bit years has given me a skill that improves my trips abroad, makes me feel like a more intelligent and worldly person, and who knows, may even be something I can apply professionally in the future.

So download Duolingo or another similar app today, and use your spare time in lockdown constructively to learn a new language. That way, whenever you’re next able to go abroad on holiday, you won’t have to order your dinner by speaking English at half-speed and pointing at what you want on the menu...

Dan McCalla is an experienced freelance copywriter specialising in B2B marketing. If you’d like to work with him on your next project, get in touch with him here.