Over the last five years, I have had the opportunity to attend intensive summer language courses in three countries (Italy, Wales, and Ireland) to learn three completely different languages. (And yes, Wales and Ireland do have languages that aren’t English, and yes, I promise they’re not just funny dialects of English.) All jokes about Welsh orthography aside, after spending significant time abroad to learn different languages, you pick up on some things:
Shed your preconceptions before you get there, because they will be wrong
Every country has its fair share of cultural stereotypes it has to contend with. The locals know this, and believe me, they won’t be impressed if that is how you elect to fit in. If you have the opportunity to take part in local festivals or dances, go do it, don’t just spend your time getting drunk because “that’s what they do in Ireland!”
Location matters more than you think
Identify early on what sort of setting you want before you commit to a course. While a little village in the Italian countryside sounds idyllic on paper, you may discover that you are feeling suffocated after the first week of four when you have gone to every caffè in town enough times that they know who you are (and are probably judging your order) and the gelateria only has so many flavours. Oh, and you also can’t leave because the closet bus station is 16 kilometres away, which in 45° Celsius weather is about as helpful to you as if it were on Mars. At least you will never mispronounce ‘pistachio’ again in your life – because having irate Italian women yelling at you over gelato is an experience you only ever have to have once.
That being said, there are language schools in urban centres, and cities obviously have more opportunities for entertainment, and the resources to travel further afield, than a village would. Depending on the language you want to learn, though, you may have to look really hard for opportunities to practice and not get bogged down only speaking English. In a country like Italy, that’s fine, you can easily go drink your espresso in a piazza in Florence and have the language all around you, but if you want to learn Irish or Welsh in a city, you’re basically out of luck if you want a true immersive experience.
Oddly, and possibly counter-intuitively, the only time I have ever had an issue accessing the internet from home during any of my immersion programmes was when I was living in a city, so there are pros and cons to both.
Decide who you’re going to spend your time with
In every course, there will be the group of people who are really intent on speaking only their target language ever, and then there will be a group who are there to party. Get your head around this early on, make peace with it, choose which group you want to spend your time with, and then stick with them. You’ll be happier for it.
Culture shock and homesickness are real things, and they suck
Regardless of how much you’ve always wanted to go abroad, nothing can prepare you for the reality of actually being there. This is especially true if you do end up in a remote village away from a lot of the comforts of home to which you are accustomed. It is very easy to allow yourself to wallow in bed, watching Netflix and sulking that you’re out of your comfort zone, and while Irish Netflix admittedly has a rather amazing selection, you have to remind yourself that you’re not there to hermit yourself away. That being said, the internet is a great invention with which to battle homesickness, just so long as you don’t spend all of your time Skyping home.
Befriend your host family
If you are in a situation where you’re staying with a family, it should go without saying that you should do your best to befriend them. They have opened up their home to you, and are probably feeding you, so it’s good manners to be polite, but they will also become an invaluable resource to you, especially in terms of practicing the language you’re there to learn. They are also usually more than willing to help you out if you get yourself rained on, or stranded, but it’s up to you to cultivate that relationship first.
Don’t get involved with someone on your course
Just trust me here: that will never end well.
No, really, I mean it.
There’s a reason summer flings are so romanticised; they’re fun, light-hearted, and make you feel all light and bubbly. But when you’re on an immersion course, you are both in a completely foreign environment and it is really easy to just let loose and adopt a persona that you would never actually express at home. You’ll do it, they’ll do it, everyone around you is basically on a glorified holiday. To make the recipe for bad decisions even more potent, for some of your peers, this may be the first time they are legally allowed to drink, as the legal drinking age throughout most of Europe is 18 (except Italy, which is 16), although the extent to which that is enforced varies from country to country, and even from city to city. So, put a lot of hormonal young people, all of whom are probably constantly tipsy, in a tiny village with nothing to do for a month and things are bound to happen.
Do your research and make sure you’re actually getting what you pay for
Especially in countries whose economies do rely on a tourist industry, it is really easy to sign up for a “language school” that is little more than an elaborate scheme to swindle you out of your money. Luckily for you (though perhaps less so for them) the internet makes it very easy to identify which of the language schools are actually trying to do this, and which of them are more legitimate. But even in the most reputable schools, there can be hidden costs, so, like most things, if it seems like it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
