Learn to Manage, Master a Language

So, if you’re going on that first study Spanish in Mexico City or are a grizzled world traveler who’s leaving Taipei to go teach English to rich kids in St. Petersburg, here are some tips to keep mind:

Study Beforehand

Although immersion is the quickest path to fluency, learning the basics of vocabulary, grammar, and the alphabet (for languages that don’t use the Roman alphabet) will get you up to speed that much quicker.

“The hardest thing is to make people talk to you in the language you’re trying to learn, and not English.”

“If you can study a language for a year before going, this will boost your speed of acquisition exponentially, though this is not necessarily a requirement,” said Brandon Protas, who has become fluent in Spanish, Dutch, and Hebrew by living abroad.

Avoid English Speakers

This sounds harsh and is the hardest tip to pull off. When in a strange, foreign place, people from the same background can get a lot of solace from each other. But, it’s better to keep your distance, at least at first.

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