OKinUK Blog

Let me reveal the truth! Learning languages is a hell of a hard work! It's no "play and learn" crush course passed in two weeks as some advertising material promises. The process takes years and years until we can comfortably use our skills abroad. The best testing environment is a workplace packed with native speakers - suddenly freediving with tiger sharks may seem a bit less stressful ! :). The good news is we can always practise and improve by reading, listening, watching and communicating.

You can take on the challenge at any age but most studies show that the ideal scenario is to start learning a foreign language as early as possible. At an early age, you yet can not choose whether it may be of interest to you in the future or not. You simply have to pass the subject as a part of your school curriculum. As you probably fear bad grades could expose you to a potential public humiliation in front your classmates, you simply try your best and, of course, by trying you learn. Some people hate learning languages but they may as well be mathematical geniuses so that's ok. Everyone´s strenghts are different and equally important.

Those of us who had to memorise words and phrases at school appreciate the advantage of having started at an early age. The learning process may have been painful initially but the time put into in is much welcomed later. For example, the independence the skills provide you with while abroad is fantastic. You are able to go anywhere in the world and feel at home and this is what English, the number one international language, may help you with.

The lingua franca or the vehicular language used among people who do not share a mother tongue has become English without a doubt. Some may call it the new Esperanto. Even French, the European language of diplomacy from the 17th century, was replaced by English after World War II. As a result, texts in English can be found in legal documents, passports or in the papers and most international institutions use English as their working language. Apart from the United States, UK and the Republic of Ireland, it is still a dominant language in the former British colonies. Therefore, it seems almost an imperative to have a good command of English not just to find work in today's competitive market but also to be able to travel, watch the news, read international books, help tourists with directions, build friendships and simply live and have fun.

Whatever age, if you feel you have enough basic knowledge and want to take it further by exploring foreign countries or arranging a catch-up with a native speaker I can only recommend it. In early learning stages, conversation classes should supplement your grammar lessons but not make up 90% of the lesson. The reason being is that it's a bit pointless to start speaking to a native speaker when you can't put a sentence together. Further on in the process, daily conversations will help you improve and learn about a different culture. Few months down the line you may not even notice how much you've improved and that you are actually enjoying yourselves.