“Spending some time in a country where you speak the language you’re learning produces fabulous results. It’s a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture and communicate constantly.”
While this may seem like common sense, it’s not a law that applies to everyone in every situation. There are several questions to be answered.
Which language skills does immersion have the most impact on? Under what conditions is a stay abroad most profitable? And who benefits most?
First and foremost, it’s important to remember that, unlike young children, repeated contact with a foreign language is not enough for an adult to assimilate it automatically and effortlessly.
Take the case of expatriates.
Some have lived in a foreign country for ages without ever having been able to learn more than a dozen words. Others are able to interact in situations of “basic necessity”, such as buying something in a store, writing to an administration, making a phone call… However, they make very little progress, probably because it doesn’t seem essential to them.
These two cases clearly show that passive immersion in a new environment is not enough to make its language and culture one’s own. On the contrary, it requires a deliberate approach, firm decisions and a certain discipline.
The benefits of staycations for learning
Most studies that compare the results obtained after a language stay with those obtained in the classroom, highlight the benefits of immersion on:
– general listening comprehension,
– fluency in oral production: fewer pauses and hesitations, more words in sentences and faster speech,
– the ability to recognize and use different registers (colloquial, standard, sustained),
– assimilation of idiomatic formulas and expressions used by native speakers,
– expanding vocabulary,
– developing strategies for solving communication problems.
On the other hand, being in a natural environment would not significantly help to acquire better pronunciation. Travelers would remain deaf to the acoustic nuances of foreign sounds, intonations and accents.
As far as grammar is concerned, it’s best taught in a guided environment such as a course. An explicit explanation of how the language works would therefore be a perfect complement to the stay.
Exchanges with the locals
Traveling abroad is inevitably associated with numerous contacts with the locals. But access to these privileged exchanges is not automatic, and varies greatly according to each person’s situation.
The cliché of Erasmus students staying to themselves for the duration of their stay and speaking only their mother tongue is not a myth!
The quality of these exchanges also varies widely.
They may be limited to basic necessities, as mentioned above for expatriates. One might rightly wonder about the point of traveling to another country to practice “Hello, could I have two croissants please?”.
Or finding oneself in a host family with question-and-answer sequences for all forms of communication.
The quality of exchanges is thus strongly linked to the configuration of the trip, depending on whether one is alone or accompanied, traveling for work, study or tourism, staying with hosts, in a university residence or in a shared apartment.
Research suggests that having a network of acquaintances, or creating one on the spot, provides the best opportunities for practice. Ideally, it should be large, diversified and often solicited. In any case, the success of building and maintaining such a network depends largely on the learner’s own personality. While the benefits of a language stay vary according to the circumstances in which it takes place, certain learner profiles will benefit more than others.
Who benefits most?
In any case, you’ll get the most out of a stay abroad if you already have a good grounding in the language.
Indeed, beginners who invest all their energy in keeping their head above water are not in the best position to pay attention to the various formulations. As the saying goes: “You can’t teach a drowning man to swim!
On the other hand, a learner at B1 level or above will be able to process linguistic information more efficiently.
Other parameters such as age and gender facilitate or hinder integration into native speaker circles.
Being in a certain age bracket can stimulate or complicate first contacts. Religious restrictions in some countries also have an impact on discussions with the opposite sex.
As for attitudes, they play a decisive role.
The motivation to initiate exchanges, to pay attention to what you hear and say, and to ask for corrections depends on each individual. Moreover, it’s safe to say thatopenness to a language and culture other than one’s own has a considerable influence on the quantity and quality of exchanges.
Leaving !
Whatever the case, there’s no question of passing up an opportunity to practice the language you’re studying in the countries where you speak it!
In addition to all the encounters, discoveries and opportunities that can change the course of a person’s life, an immersion stay gives full meaning to learning a foreign language, reminding you that it is an instrument of communication before being an abstract object of study. All you have to do is take the test of conversation with native speakers, and you’ll know just how much the time and effort you’ve invested on your own or in class have paid off…
