• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login/ Register
  • Editorial Team
  • Get Involved

Exeposé Online

Making the headlines since 1987

Exeposé Online
  • Home
  • News
      • Local
      • COVID-19
      • University News
  • Comment
  • Features
      • National
      • Worldwide
      • Politics
      • Interviews
  • Science
      • News
      • Lite Science
      • Common Misconceptions
      • Environment
      • Health
      • Technology
  • Sport
  • Lifestyle
      • Fashion and Beauty
      • Features
      • Food
      • Wellbeing
      • Sustainability
  • Music
      • Interviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Single Reviews
  • Screen
      • Reviews
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Festivals and Awards
  • Arts + Lit
      • Interviews
      • Features
      • Reviews
      • Creative Writing
  • Amplify
  • International
  • Multilingual
  • News
  • Comment
  • Features
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Sport
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • Screen
  • Arts + Lit
  • Amplify
  • International
  • Multilingual
Home / International

Language Learning: Advice from a Brit Abroad

Language Learning: Advice from a Brit Abroad

May 9, 2022 – by Hannah Cox

In this years’ first Italian article, Hannah grapples with the challenges and pressures of learning a new language. Learning from eavesdropping and chatty taxi drivers are all part of an exchange year!

Like many others, the realisation that I would spend the next academic year speaking a language that wasn’t my own suddenly left me feeling very far away from the comfort of Queen’s Building. Armed with the few phrases that I could remember from my second year of studying Italian (‘I went to the cinema with my friends’ and ‘I am English’), I was endeavouring to get myself to my new university city of Ferrara – an hour and forty-minute train journey south of my current location. Unbeknown to me, I had been sold a Frecciarossa train ticket (imagine the British Airways of Italian interrailing). I should have realised that I was not their typical customer when I slumped down in an ergonomic leather seat, surrounded by a carriage full of commuters, with a load that can only be compared to that of a Year 9 embarking on DofE.

Needless to say, the Google Translate app has taken pride of place on my Home Screen. Despite what your GCSE French teacher may have told you, there’s no shame in it

Now, I’m not one to normally encourage eavesdropping, but in the context of language learning, it is absolutely essential. I spent that train journey frantically jotting down whatever new words I could decipher from the tannoy and commuters’ business calls. Needless to say, the Google Translate app has taken pride of place on my Home Screen. Despite what your GCSE French teacher may have told you, there’s no shame in it. The act of listening, researching and then writing new words in a vocabulary list is an excellent way to expand your understanding. The key is to learn vocabulary in context; note how the word was used in a sentence, or where you were when you heard it. That way, the new vocabulary will be neurologically tied to the memory of the encounter.

Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to becoming comfortable conversing in a new language. My first real-life speaking practice came in the form of an exceptionally chatty taxi driver. Speeding over the cobbles, he informed me of how Americans had murdered pizza with the addition of ketchup and criticised how a poorly parked Vespa had obstructed the road. His remarks about how brave I was to learn Italian didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. He did, however, extend an olive branch in teaching me the proverb “sbagliando si impara”, meaning “you learn from your mistakes“. Getting things wrong is inevitable. You may even be laughed at. Sometimes humiliation is the key to avoiding a repeat offence. It is the ability to fail forwards and act upon subsequent corrections that leads to true progress. 

When learning a language, beware of the f-word: fluency

That being said, receiving corrections every time you open your mouth leaves a lot of students disheartened. When learning a language, beware of the f-word: fluency. Despite grand claims of students returning to Exeter speaking like fully-fledged natives, for the most part, it’s not a reality. The goal should always be communication – idioms and impeccable grammar are not the be-all and end-all. With that in mind, I wholeheartedly advise throwing caution to the wind when striking up a conversation. The beauty of this is that you never know what topic is going to arise, forcing you to adapt to any lexical field that you may find yourself in. When in doubt, there is always the possibility of leaning on British culture as a conversational crutch. Regardless of cultural barriers, I have always found a common ground in discussing Peaky Blinders or trying to locate where I live in the UK relative to football clubs.

So many attempts to practice speaking are derailed at the slightest whisper of a British accent, so when met with the unavoidable English reply, persevere! Remember that learning a language doesn’t happen overnight, so enjoy the process and take the small wins along the way. 


Edited by Ryan Gerrett

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

May 9, 2022 By Hannah Cox Filed Under: International, Overseas Correspondents Tagged With: Italian, study abroad, Langauges, Overseas Correspondents

Reader Interactions

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

exeposeoverseascorrespondents

Exeter students abroad ✍️ and 📸 about their experiences in Exeposé student newspaper.
Foreign Correspondents Editor: @maddie.r.baker

Anna Romanovska illustrates how displaced internat Anna Romanovska illustrates how displaced international students bear the brunt of COVID-19. ✈️ https://exepose.com/2020/04/27/why-i-stayed/
Jenny May Medlicott, Foreign Correspondent, examin Jenny May Medlicott, Foreign Correspondent, examines the way in which European countries are cooperating through the Coronavirus pandemic. 🌏 https://exepose.com/2020/04/21/a-problem-shared-is-a-problem-halved/
Foreign Correspondent Ben Mirzoeff describes his e Foreign Correspondent Ben Mirzoeff describes his experience of being in France at the time of the crisis and how it has affected him. 🇫🇷 https://exepose.com/2020/04/17/coronavirus-roundtable-toulouse/
Henry Jordan, Foreign Correspondent in Florida, gi Henry Jordan, Foreign Correspondent in Florida, gives a heartfelt insight into his curtailed year-abroad experience.  https://exepose.com/2020/04/10/home-is-where-the-heart-is-a-year-abroad-in-florida-cut-short/
Sammy Cole, Foreign Correspondent in Paris, reflec Sammy Cole, Foreign Correspondent in Paris, reflects on her curtailed year abroad and her bittersweet return.  @sammyc0le  https://exepose.com/2020/04/09/home-is-where-the-heart-is-a-parisian-year-abroad-cut-short/
How coronavirus disrupted my #studyabroad and I gr How coronavirus disrupted my #studyabroad and I grew from it... ⁣
⁣
To find out more read Foreign Correspondent in #munich @ru.pa.li article via the link in the bio or https://exepose.com/international/
What is it like to meet Gilets Jaunes protesters d What is it like to meet Gilets Jaunes protesters during your first few days in #toulouse? 👊 ⁣
⁣
Foreign Correspondent in France, Ben Mirzoeff, accounts the protests via the link in the bio or https://exepose.com/2020/03/10/witnessing-gilets-jaunes-protests-in-toulouse/
On 8th March, it was #internationalwomensday👭⁣
⁣
To find out what Australian students think about the event read the article via the link in the bio or https://exepose.com/2020/03/09/international-womens-day-in-australia/ 🇦🇺
Why are students protesting to live in a century-o Why are students protesting to live in a century-old dormitory in #kyoto? ✊⁣
⁣
Foreign Correspondent Editor @maddie.r.baker explores the situation further via the link in the bio or https://exepose.com/2020/03/02/kyotos-universitys-yoshida-dormitory-students-living-in-protest/
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

There may be an issue with the Instagram access token that you are using. Your server might also be unable to connect to Instagram at this time.

Contact Us: editors@exepose.com

Since 1987, Exeposé has given a voice to Exeter students. Over the years, the determination and political fervour exhibited by students through Exeposé have helped shape the University we study at today. We have received national recognition for our award-winning campaigns, investigations and surveys, and always strive to provide students with high-quality news, comment and features.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in articles and comments do not reflect the views of Exeposé Online or the University of Exeter Student's Guild.

        


© 2022
Website design: Harry Caton and Ellie Cook
Webdesign & development: Harry Caton