You are a student and you are not really good at languages despite all your efforts? Of course, this situation exasperates you because you know it well: mastering a foreign language is a crucial asset for your professional future... Don't worry, all is not lost! To get out of the impasse, go abroad in order to a student language course can really be a miracle solution. We'll explain why!

A good way to improve pronunciation

You can read all the language manuals on the planet, but nothing beats a stay in the country to learn a language! It is indeed important to evolve in contact with the population in order to really master a language and, first and foremost, its pronunciation.

By communicating with the locals whose language you are learning, you will immediately know if your pronunciation is correct.

Indeed, on paper you can very well have excellent spelling, know all irregular verbs by heart, master all grammatical exceptions at your fingertips, but have a catastrophic pronunciation..

As a result, when you ask a question to a local in their language, they look at you with round eyes and do not understand you. Too bad, all this work for (almost) nothing! But it is proof that textbooks and courses are not enough to master a language. It is only by listening to the locals speak and communicating with them that we can really progress and speak a language correctly.

A language is lived!

As the expression consecrated in schools says very well, you learn a "living language" (and not a dead language like Latin), quite simply because a language is lived!

The classic easy solution is to say to yourself that Google Translation is enough.

But don't think you can improve your English just by juggling this software on your smartphone.

Online translation tools are certainly useful when trying to translate a word or expression (they are even good bilingual online dictionaries) but they will not help you to really improve your language skills. At most, they will allow you to improve your vocabulary.

Most expressions of everyday life and proverbs are thus impossible to translate on the Internet.

For example, if you try to translate "It's raining cats and dogs" on google translation, you will get "it rains dogs and cats"..

But the situation will be quite different if an Englishman uses the same sentence in driving rain in London, you will immediately understand that this funny sentence, translated word for word, actually corresponds to "Il pleut des cordes" in French.

Concrete daily scenarios

Beyond the ready-made expressions, a language stay can generally allow you to learn a language much faster than by taking courses.

Living abroad you are indeed in total immersion all the time and constantly learn through everything you do.

Thus, to master all the culinary vocabulary of a language (often so daunting in school textbooks), there is nothing more effective than shopping at the supermarket in the country where you are on your language trip.

All the names of everyday foods will soon have no secrets for you! To find them, you will have to read the signs and ask the salesmen for information. A great way to learn at lightning speed!

Going to a restaurant is also a very good way to learn because, outside the tourist districts where you can sometimes find menus in French, it is better to master the language of the country of your stay in order to be able to place an order without having your hair pulled out.

Another classic situation in everyday life to progress: shopping. To be able to buy some clothes on the spot, you must quickly learn to master local sizes, colours, outfit styles etc. otherwise you will never find what you are really looking for.

A stay with many discoveries at stake

Of course, a language stay is also a language course because it is important to combine theory and practice to become a true pro of the language in question.

But don't worry, the schedules are arranged in such a way as to give you free time to have fun and visit the country where you are staying.

Indeed, a language stay is also a wonderful way to open up to other horizons, and to develop your general culture.

If, for example, you choose the island of Malta for your stay, you will have plenty of time to explore Valletta, the country's pretty capital, a city on a human scale with very interesting visits to make. And you will quickly understand why it was designated European Capital of Culture in 2018.

New friends in the pipeline

During your stay, you will also have the opportunity to make new friends among the people of the country. And to improve the language you learn, to exchange with the locals about everything and nothing is an excellent learning accelerator for mastering a language.

Nothing to do with language courses in France where once the course is over, you speak in your native language with your colleagues and no longer in the language of the course at all...

Of course, you will probably not be the only French person to have a language stay, but even if you make friends with fellow countrymen, you will still have to exchange with the locals all the time and so you will still make progress in learning the language.

To access EF's full range of language products and improve your language level, go to http://www.ef.fr/pg

If you have already taken the step of going abroad, you will find many tips and resources on the EF blog, such as the top 10 series for learning English.