So you’re planning on living overseas — do you really need to learn the language of your adopted country?

I have a simple, two-word answer for you: it depends.

Don’t learn the language:

• If you plan to live, work and play among other expats
• If you’re not interested in immersing yourself in the local culture
• If you plan to hire someone to take care of your administrative tasks

However, if you want to explore your new country on your own, handle your own bill paying, banking, and other business, and interact with local people, learning even a little of the language is a good idea.

With that said, how do you choose among all the available options? There are several well known and highly rated programs, lots of websites, there are private language lessons and group classes, Skype classes, and on and on.

Best Option: Language Classes in the Country

Ideally, you’ll have the time and the budget to hook up with some total immersion language classes once you arrive in the country. There are several big benefits:

1. Attending a class means you’ll set aside the time and devote your attention to your language learning, increasing the likelihood you’ll actually follow through with it.
2. You’ll learn the language as the locals speak it. If you’re living in Panama, for example, as we plan to, you can learn Spanish as the Panamanian people speak it, with local idioms.
3. You’ll learn from interacting with your fellow students, and get to practice in a “safe” environment
4. Participating in a class with others is more enjoyable than sitting home alone

If You Want to Learn Before You Go

If you want to start your language program before you go, there are lots of choices of online or computer-based programs. If you’re in the US, check your local community college. Often they’ll offer conversational language classes. (That’s how I got started with Spanish.)

I’ve also worked with each of the programs below. They approach language learning differently, and each has its strengths.

Online and Computer Language Programs

Interested in finding an online program or buying a computer-based program you can work at in your spare time? There are several good ones. They each offer lots of vocabulary building and grammar, but their approaches differ. If you know your own learning style, it’s easier to evaluate them to figure out which will work best for you.

LiveMocha

There’s an excellent website called LiveMocha which offers interactive language instruction in a whole slew of languages, starting with Abkhazian and ending in Zuni. The basic program is free, or you can access extras for reasonable fees. You can even put together a program for group lessons.

Transparent Language

Transparent.com produces several different programs. They offer a small “starter” program that’s designed solely to drill vocabulary, called Before You Know It, or BYKI for short. The basic version is free online. Or you can pay a modest amount to get a more robust version. (They offer a mobile version as well.)

The next step up would be Everywhere Audio, a 5 CD set (or you can download the MP3s). This program helps you build your vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

Or there’s the Transparent Connect program, which combines self-paced computer study with live instruction.

Premium Edition combines the BYKI vocabulary-building system with practice using the language in realistic settings.

Or, choose the Complete Edition, which includes all of the Premium Edition, BYKI Deluxe and Everywhere Audio.

They’re offering 20% off on purchases before January 31. Save 20% off of orders of $125 or more. Use TWNTYOFF at checkout. Expires 1/31/2012

Pimsleur

Pimsleur also offers several levels of programs. If you buy the Quick and Simple program, they’ll give you a credit toward Pimsleur I, which is the first substantive program. If you’re going to choose Pimsleur, that’s where I suggest you start.

Pimsleur I, II, III and IV offer 30 units of instruction in each module.

I’ve done well putting Pimsleur on my iPod and listening to it in the car.

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone may be the best known of the major language software programs. They’ve gotten kudos from CNN, the New York Times, PC Magazine, and lots and lots of customers. They offer instruction in 29 languages, including Latin American Spanish and Spanish from Spain.

Fluent in Three Months? Really?

Last but not least, take a look at Fluent in Three Months. This is a website that doesn’t teach specific languages, but teaches you how to learn a language.

Author Benny Lewis calls himself “The Irish Polyglot.” He grew up in Ireland speaking only English, but for the past nine years he’s been traveling the world. He’s taken his natural curiosity and linguistic ability and put it to use teaching others how to “hack” language learning. Definitely worth a look.

(His blog is pretty interesting, too.)

Even if you don’t feel the need to become completely fluent in the language of your new country, knowing some common words and phrases can ease your transition. Or you can immerse yourself in the language, with the confidence that soon you’ll be able to transact business and carry on a conversation with a local friend.

I’ll let this poll run for a couple of weeks, then share the responses with you.

You can also contact me to share your thoughts, or join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit it’s not a high hurdle. I figure my Spanish is at about the level of a bright two-year old’s. All my verbs are present tense and my vocabulary is severely limited. Think, “See Spot run” and you’ll have a good idea what my skill level is.

Armed with a pocket Spanish-English dictionary and lots of brazen self confidence, I figured I could manage.

On the whole, I did pretty well. I used the dictionary — a lot — and most people were patient and willing to work with me as I struggled to make myself understood.

What I hadn’t counted on, though, was how difficult it was for me to understand them! The rapid conversational Spanish I heard in David and Las Tablas was nothing like the slow, careful speaking I’d heard in class, on my Pimsleur tapes, and online.

Sometimes I had to admit defeat. “No entiendo,” I would mutter, turning my face away from them in shame.

My husband was no help.

It’s not only that he doesn’t speak any Spanish beyond “hola” or “buenas” or “gracias.” It’s a much bigger problem than that.

You see, my husband is a philosopher and he loves to discuss deep, complicated issues. Not for him the superficial pleasantries and small talk.

“Tell him I really admire the way people here do X or think about Y,” he’d instruct me to say to a new acquaintance.

I tried explaining to him that there was no way, with my limited skills, I could mediate the kind of conversation he enjoys. Finally, in frustration, I turned to him and said, “I speak like a two-year old. How would a two-year old communicate that concept?”

How Do You Say, “Misunderstanding” in Spanish?

Then there was the conversation I had with the ladies at the hotel reception desk in our Las Tablas hotel.

We stayed in the Piamonte, a block away from el centro. Part of the hotel is one one side of the street, and they have a new block of guest rooms upstairs across the street as well. (The ground floor is a cell phone store.)

One of the ladies had patiently tried to explain several times where our room was located. She finally gave up and walked us across the street, through the tiny doorway, up the stairs and down the hall to our room.

A while later, we began wondering if the street door would be locked at night. We tried our room key in it and discovered it didn’t fit, so we stopped by the reception desk to ask.

I was going on and on about “la puerta” (the door) and the key, and the women were staring at me in total incomprehension. Finally I asked my husband to give me the key, one of those old-fashioned big keys attached to a six-inch piece of wood so you don’t forget it in your pocket.

I took the key, I pointed to the door across the street, I mimed turning the key and threw up my hands. “A que hora?” (what time) I asked.

The light dawned, they beamed. Midnight, they answered. Maybe one in the morning.

“Gracias, muchas gracias” I thanked them.

Later I pulled out my pocket dictionary, trying to figure out why they hadn’t understood me initially.

There are two similar verbs in Spanish. There’s “llaver,” to lock. There’s also “lavar,” to wash.

I had been asking them what time the door washed itself at night.

Doh. . .

Needless to say, I think I need more language lessons.

Spanish Study in Panama

There are several Spanish schools in Panama.

Habla Ya in Boquete offers private lessons as well as group and “mini-group” classes. Group lessons have four students, mini-groups have two or three.

They offer a Basic Spanish for Travelers Crash Course, as well as a variety of classes with differing intensity.

While you’re studying with Habla Ya, they can arrange a homestay with a local family for a total immersion experience, or you can arrange accommodations in a local hostel or hotel.

Languages in Action has schools in Panama City and in Boquete. They offer individual and group classes, as well as combinations of the two.

They can also help you arrange a homestay experience.

Spanish Panama is directed by Canadians, and provides Spanish language instruction for employees of the Panama Canal expansion.

In addition to group and individual lessons, they offer a special orientation package for newcomers and retirees called “Panama, My New Home.” It combines an orientation to living in Panama with a survival Spanish course of one, two or four weeks.

A quick online search reveals other schools as well.

An immersion language class, besides helping you understand the local people, can give you a good introduction to your new country when you first arrive.

That’s a question only you can answer, and that answer will depend on several factors.

• What kind of expat are you? If you’re a cultural or missionary-type expat, deciding to learn the language will feel like a no-brainer to you.
• Will your work require it?
• Will you live among other expats, or will you live among the local people?

My husband and I will be moving to Latin America, and I’m excited about learning Spanish. (Would you care to guess what kind of expat I am?)

Taking an immersion course after you arrive in the country is an excellent way to acquire language skills, but what if you want to begin sooner?

Great news! You can start online before you ever leave home. Some sites are completely free and some you pay for. The best offer free lessons and give you the option to move to a more robust paid version.

My favorite is LiveMocha. There’s plenty of free instruction, with more available for a fee. After you study a lesson, you complete a written and a spoken assignment. Native speakers review them for you, which is extremely helpful. There’s also an active forum where you can interact in your own language and the language you’re learning.

Here are a few other websites to get you started.

Free Sites

Word2Word
Busuu.com
My Language Exchange
Foreign Service Institute language learning This one’s a bit kludgy. It was developed at taxpayer expense for Foreign Service employees, and is available free for anyone.

Paid Sites

BYKI offers free desktop software and access to an online community. Or you can upgrade to their Deluxe version for a fee.
Transparent Language
Verbal Planet

Skype or VOIP-based Instruction

Some companies offer web-based individual instruction. For this they harness the power of Skype or other internet-based communications to let you work directly with an instructor. One such company is Ensemble en Francaise, where you can learn French.

The Mixxer facilitates “language exchanges” via Skype.

Learn OutLive also uses Skype for private lessons.

Even if you don’t get very far with the new language before you move, you’ll find it helpful to know a little basic vocabulary and common phrases.

The Complexities of Communication in a Foreign Language

Guest Post by Heather Merkel

Heather Merkel, CPC is a Culture Transition Specialist who helps Expatriates and their families feel at home anywhere in the world through a core set of strategies designed to help you overcome the social, personal, and professional related issues that arise when transitioning to another culture. You can learn more about Heather at Culture Transition Coaching.

I’ve been reading a wonderful book called The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. The story centers around the life of the main character, but in an interesting twist, it is told through the eyes of his dog, Enzo. What caught my attention is the similarities of Enzo’s story to those of us who have every tried living in another country and been frustrated in our efforts to communicate.



First, Enzo understands everything going on around him, but lacks the ability to talk back. When you move to another country, if you don’t speak the language, you may feel a similar frustration, where you understand what everyone is saying, but you just can’t get the words out to reply, or say something, ANYTHING to let those around you know you get it. Enzo is forced to rely on exaggerated gestures in his inability to speak.If you’re in another country, and can’t rely on words, you, too will have to rely on another way to communicate, at least initially. Whether it’s gestures, pointing to a dictionary, silly faces and pantomimes, pointing at things, etc – it may feel a bit degrading as you initially try to get your point across.

Sometimes, Enzo can’t get his point across. There are moments in the story where tragic things happen and Enzo is unable to make those around him understand that he knows what has happened. When words and gestures fail you in another country, the result can be aggravation, and even bouts of depression. It’s enormously frustrating when you need to communicate something important and can’t seem to get your point across.

Enzo harps on humans and their listening skills. There are many instances in the story where Enzo and his master are able to “speak” without words. I can think of many examples in my own life when communication happened without words. Sometimes, even in another country, the ability to listen – really listen – beyond the words, can help you understand a situation.

Frankly, I’ve always been fascinated with how some dogs seem to understand and communicate and they do it without words. It’s in their gaze, the way they place their paw on you, their bark, their ears… I find it amazing that these companions can be so smart, and be an excellent reflection for anyone feeling the frustration of learning a new language.

I feel it’s imperative that you make every effort to learn a new language if you’re moving to a new country. However, let Enzo teach you a few good lessons while you’re at it:

1. Communication can happen without words

2. Gestures can sometimes be as effective as the words you are unable to say
3. You may feel silly while using gestures in place of words, but if you get your point across, isn’t that the most important?
4. Being able to really listen to someone — deeply, even beyond words — can sometimes have immeasurable value. And, if you don’t speak the language, you’ll be able to really tune in to all the other ways of listening!

Share your experiences of trying to communicate in (or maybe despite) another language! Just click the comment link below.

Exchange Students

The Frost family, Maya, Tom and four daughters, were living in Portland, OR when they decided — with three daughters in high school — to move to Mexico. In addition to moving the family overseas, each of the girls spent their junior year of high school in a foreign exchange program in another country, independently of the family.


The family was fortunate that both parents were able to handle their work virtually, so finances were not an issue. In fact, Frost explained that living overseas helped them save substantial amounts toward the girls’ college educations.

The result of all this internationalization, according to Frost, is students who graduated from college earlier than their peers, with substantially lower costs, no debt, and opportunities galore.

Under the heading, “Top Ten Reasons to Read This Book,” she begins:

“This is not your typical college-prep handbook. In fact, The New Global Student is more like the anti-college prep handbook.

“Instead, this eye-popping how-to guide offers tips, ticks, and only-if-you’ve been there secrets to show frazzled parents and students how to completely avoid the traditional hypercompetitive path to that golden university diploma and surge ahead with flaming enthusiasm and red-hot qualifications for life (and work) in the global economy.”

Quoting a variety of educational and other experts, and with testimonies from global students, including her own children, Frost cogently and wittily describes how diverging from the beaten path can help students (and their families) in some expected and unexpected ways.

Frost is a strong advocate for a junior-year abroad. Junior year of high school, that is. Frost writes:

“I’ve had three tearful goodbyes with my daughters when they went abroad during high school . . . and I can assure you that the sadness and worry you feel as a parent will be completely overridden by the thrill of seeing your child become utterly transformed into a young adult with a heap of remarkable skills that he or she could never have gained by staying home with you.”

Frost discusses the typical US “4×4″ educational system of four years of high school followed by four years of college, and then gives examples of students who have followed different paths. One of them even managed to parlay her international experience into getting into Wellesley College without graduating from high school!

“Emily Montgomery spent a year in Hungary on an AFS exchange, and after she returned to Texas, she figured out how to get into Wellesley without actually graduating from high school or even taking the GED!”

You can read more about Emily and the other students featured in the book on Frost’s blog.

Even more powerful than the message of possibility for students, however, is Frost’s clear exposition of the reasons why taking the leap to move yourself into another country and another culture at any age is a positive and growth-promoting adventure. Frost challenges the idea that choosing a popular path ensures happiness, or that “stuff” is evidence of happiness.

Finally, Frost provides a “snappy comeback cheat sheet” of responses to those well-meaning family members and friends who just don’t understand. She tells us that “the hardest part of taking the big leap is not the leap itself but dealing with those who warn you about slipping into a dark and terrifying crevasse.” She advises readers to “respond with sass and snark. . . . Wait, did I say that? I meant humor and grace.”

Whether you have children or not, if you have ever toyed for five minutes with the idea of living in another country, you should read this book. If nothing else, it will show you where your life at home could be improved by straying from the beaten path.

Come to think of it, didn’t Robert Frost write a poem about that years ago?

If you are going to live in an expat enclave surrounded by your fellow countrymen and –women, you don’t need to learn the language. If you are not an Adventurer or a Cultural Expat, but an Escapist, and especially if you are moving for purely economic reasons, you might handle life in your new country just fine without learning the language. Personally, I would find it very frustrating not to benable to communicate with the people who surround me, but there are folks who are quite happy with that arrangement.

If your idea of a great life is to live less expensively than at home in the US, but surrounded by other North Americans and speaking English, more power to you.

Learn the Language

As a cultural expat, you are motivated to bring your culture, or a specific aspect of it, to the people you’re living among (missionary expat), or you are a student of the new culture. Either way, you’ll need to speak the language well enough to communicate on the level of ideas and interests, not just on the level of asking for the bathroom or ordering in a restaurant. While there’s a lot of commercial communication that can take place through sign language, pointing, and the like (think of bargaining in a market for something you want), understanding culture necessitates knowing the language.

Language is Culture.

German anthropologist Franz Boas believed that culture and language were inextricably intertwined. Boas believed you could not understand a culture without a deep understanding of its language, and that a language and its culture evolved together. In the process, each shaped the other, so that language, in effect, created culture while culture also created language.

If you’ve identified yourself as a cultural expat, better dust off that foreign language dictionary, take yourself off to class, or fire up that computer software.

So, bonne chance, viel Glueck, buona fortuna, 幸運, boa sorte, удача, buena suerte and 好运.

Are You An Adventurer Expat?

You May Be an Adventurer If. . .

• You enjoy learning a foreign language just for fun
• You can’t wait to eat fried sheep’s eyeballs
• You think of swimming in shark-infested waters as a minor challenge
• You don’t want to climb Mt. Everest because it’s already been done too many times
• The thought of living in the same place for 10 years gives you nightmares and makes you break out in a cold sweat

You May Also Be an Adventurer If. . .

• The thought of living in the same place for 10 years gives you hives
• You enjoy meeting new people with backgrounds different from yours
• You’re willing to try most new foods
• You get excited about visiting a new city because there’s so much to explore
• You want to learn a foreign language because that way you can talk with more people

You’re Probably Not an Adventurer If. . .

• Your idea of fun is an evening spent poring over maps, timetables and contracts
• You avoid meeting new people
• You think living in the same place for 10 years is a good start
• You worry about running out of antibacterial hand soap
• The only words you learn in a foreign language are “bathroom,” “police” and “hospital”

So. . . do you think you’re an adventurer? Let us know by clicking the Comments link below!

Students

Rice Research to Production Course

Today’s cultural students come in all shapes and sizes. Of course, there are the ubiquitous junior-year-abroad 20-ish college kids. But the students category of cultural expat includes so much more. A student can be one who takes a formal course of study at a college or a university, or someone who comes to a country purely to immerse himself in the language and the culture.

There are those who combine studying another country’s language and culture with volunteerism.


And there are people whose studies are less formal, but no less formative, who simply go and live among the native residents and absorb their language, culture, cuisine and art.

The Center for Study Abroad offers courses in Europe, China, Japan, Vietnam, South America, Mexico and New Zealand, and anyone over 18 is welcome. StudyAbroad.com lists a variety of overseas study, internship and teaching positions, as well as “volunteaching.” Amerispan, which started by offering opportunities to learn Spanish abroad, and has since expanded, features a page on their site outlining the 15 best “Bang for Your Buck” locations. They also offer combination learning/volunteer placements in educational, social work and environmental organizations. It’s even possible to obtain financial aid or other funding for your overseas studies.

Is your interest environmental rather than linguistic? Perhaps The School for Field Studies would be your choice, where you can get involved in environmental field studies in one of five countries. Even UNESCO has gotten into the act, with advice about studying abroad.

Study abroad can be an English lit class at that most traditional of English institutions, Oxford University, or it can be a Spanish-language immersion program in the Andes Mountains of Peru. You can dive in the Caribbean, or schuss down an Alp. You can study a language in the morning, then help in an orphanage in the afternoon. You can tour museums and ateliers. There are as many study abroad programs as there are expats abroad.

Have you engaged in a course of study (formal or informal) in another country? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Please add your comments below, and share some of your experience with us.