7-minute read.

As a global traveler, I’ve been to many places where English is not the dominant language. In non-English speaking communities, I try to learn at least a little of the language, and I do this for two reasons. 

1. Inequalities between English and other languages

English is the most widely-spoken language in the world – but not everyone wants to speak English. English speakers make up about 13% of the global population’s spoken languages.

I want to minimize my contribution to English language imperialism. 

English speakers have historically asserted dominance through establishing structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages. That can be illustrated by the proportion of native English speakers (379 million) to non-native English speakers (753 million). There are almost 200% more non-native English speakers globally. 

Of the ten most widely-spoken languages globally, only French (364% more non-native speakers) and Indonesian (360% more non-native speakers) have proportionally more non-native speakers than English. These numbers indicate that these languages have significant dominance over other cultures.

While I’m not able to dismantle these inequalities with my individual actions, I can at least lead by example or “be the change I want to see in the world.” And perhaps I can even provide a positive offset against the negative reputation of English-speaking US Americans worldwide.

If I were in the shoes of someone who did not speak English and lived in a non-English dominant country, I would appreciate the efforts of visiting English speakers to communicate with me in my native language. In my experience, I’ve found that many people do seem to appreciate my efforts to speak their language (but certainly not everyone). 

2. Practicality

It gets easier to communicate with more people when I don’t have to rely on English. I have found that knowing how to say the local greeting, “please,” and “thank you,” goes a long way to building rapport beyond the language barrier. 

But let’s be honest: with my type of traveling, it’s impractical for me to pursue fluency in every language. 

My commitment to learning a new language depends on a few factors:

• How long will I be staying in a country that speaks that language?

• How many other places could I also speak that language? How widely spoken is the language?

• How similar is the language to languages that I already know? (This makes the learning curve shorter). 

I stayed in Croatia for three months. Croatian is spoken by about 6 million people, mainly in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It’s a Slavic language but uses a Roman alphabet, which makes reading and sounding out words easier for English speakers. So I learned a bit of Croatian, but just enough to be polite. 

Spanish, on the other hand, is a language that’s spoken by 580 million people worldwide. That’s about 7.6% of the world’s population. And while that may not sound like much of the world, it makes Spanish the fourth-most widely spoken language. 

Something I did not know until I started researching to write this: A person bilingual in Spanish and English can understand 1 in 3 people who connect on the Internet and can understand over 60% of everything published online! 

My experience with Spanish immersion after Spanish classes

Spanish is ranked as the fourth-easiest language for native English speakers to learn, based on FSI data. I chose Spanish to study from middle school (~10 years old) because we shared a continent with a large population of Spanish speakers. I took about ten years of Spanish classes. 

But I had a rude awakening when I arrived in La Paz, Mexico, in January 2021 and realized just how little my book smarts from a decade ago were translating into street smarts. 

This brings me to my main point, which is a cliche: there is no learning experience like immersion. 

While classes, programs, and apps are practical for learning a language, they can only help you to a certain point. And when the English training wheels are removed from your new language skills bike, you start learning much faster. 

After spending more time immersed in Spanish-speaking countries – Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and Spain – my Spanish has definitely improved. I’ve been in countless uncomfortable situations to better my language comprehension, from which I've learned a lot, and I’m sure I’ll be in many more. So I want to offer some advice from my experience learning languages abroad. 

You will repeatedly struggle to communicate; just accept it.

Learning a new language – particularly as an adult – is challenging. Some languages are more accessible for English speakers than others, but as you learn through immersion, communicating in any new language will come with a slew of difficulties. 

Just as I realized how little I could actually communicate when I arrived in Mexico, you, too, will quickly realize the extent of your incapabilities. 

It’s a humbling experience, as your limitations become immediately evident the moment you begin to engage. When communication gets tough, remind yourself that this is the experience non-native English speakers must endure in English-speaking countries (and often, their experiences come with far more discrimination).

Remember that navigating difficult communication is part of the learning process and that the more you do it, the easier it will become.

Conversations as scripts: don’t just memorize your “part.”

One of the challenges with learning a new language is that we often latch onto our “part” in the conversational script and don’t study the potential responses we can receive from playing our “part.” 

For example, you may proudly be able to demonstrate how to ask, “Dónde está el baño?” (Where is the bathroom?), but will you understand the response about how to get to the bathroom? After all, that’s the reason you’re asking in the first place. 

That’s why learning typical dialogue in a language is more helpful than only learning pieces of dialogue. Plenty of apps train language learning in this way – like Babbel. 

Study situation-specific vocabulary before you enter that situation.

Learning all new vocabulary is a process – and you’re just not going to be able to retain everything immediately. A more effective strategy I’ve found for learning new vocabulary is studying vocabulary specific to a situation. 

For example, if I’m going to the supermarket, I will make a grocery list in the local language. It only requires a little Googling. And it makes shopping much easier when I know which words to look for. This especially made grocery shopping easier in Portugal – where people always seemed to be in a hurry at the supermarket. 

When I went to the doctor for my broken ankle in Guatemala, I ensured I had the correct vocabulary to communicate about it and the potential words that would come as responses. Ex. Rayos X (x-ray), Fisioterapia (Physical therapy). 

Note that doctor visits are slightly more complex than other situation-specific vocabularies because doctors like to use medical language that is difficult for the layperson in any language to understand. So, in some cases, I had to do some double translation, like when I found out that I have a “fractura en el maleolo,” which is “malleolus fracture” in English, and in layperson English is just “broken ankle.” 

The point here is that you’re far more likely to retain the vocabulary you study when you have to use it or understand it in real-life situations. 

The goal is to communicate, not to get the language perfect.

When struggling with a new language, it’s helpful to keep in mind that the person you’re communicating with is likely invested in understanding you (although this is not always the case). 

I have a streak of perfectionism, and I’m a writer – so I really want to get my communication right. And those values sometimes, ironically, interfere with my ability to communicate. I get tripped up on less important communication details and get too flustered to communicate effectively. 

So don’t lose sight of the objective here: communicating more effectively. 

When you don’t understand everything, look for context clues. 

You can sometimes piece together what someone has said even if you don’t understand everything. Slow down. 

Look out for gestures. Some non-verbal clues could help you understand what a person is saying. We tend to do this without thinking about it, but when we can’t entirely rely on spoken language to communicate, awareness of these things is important.

When you’re struggling to communicate, get creative.

If you can’t come up with the words and English isn’t an option, you have the creative freedom to find alternative ways to convey your message. Non-verbal communication is your friend (but do some research to ensure you don’t use offensive gestures in the given culture). 

Once while speaking to a Guatemalan pharmacist, I forgot the phrase “bathroom wet wipes” in Spanish. Without even thinking about it, I pantomimed wiping my ass. He looked at me with nothing but confusion. I ended up just looking it up on Google Translate (it’s toallitas húmeadas, FYI).

Which brings me to my next point…

If all else fails, use Google Translate.

Technology is great, and we should use it as we learn languages. I love how quick Google Translate is. It’s not always accurate, but it’ll usually get the job done. 

But for more local and practical use sayings that aren’t in the digital dictionary, it helps to have someone to teach you.

Get a friend who is willing to help you learn.

Having a friend willing to teach you is incredibly helpful. They can gently correct you (as long as you’re open to being teachable), and they can teach you local slang. 

I have made some wonderful friends who helped me improve at Spanish, and I’m very grateful. 

Hooray, learning!

It’s both incredibly satisfying and edifying in instances when you have successfully communicated in another language. I highly recommend chasing that feeling for yourself and those who speak with you!