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Should you learn tourist level language? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6161 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 1 of 8 28 February 2012 at 3:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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If given the choice between not learning a language, and learning it to a basic tourist level (A1-A2), what would you do ?
The obvious answers against it are, - It'll take time away from the other languages you study. - You're unlikely to understand all but the simplest types of communication. - It can be frustrating not being able to express yourself. However, some advantages to acquiring a basic level include, - Locals may appreciate you've made some attempt to learn it. - Learning basic pronunciation can be critical if you're using taxis, trams or buses. - Simple shop transactions are more pleasant than simply pointing, or using English if they can. - You may continue further in your studies at some point. Edited by DaraghM on 28 February 2012 at 3:18pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Majka Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic kofoholici.wordpress Joined 4667 days ago 307 posts - 755 votes Speaks: Czech*, German, English Studies: French Studies: Russian | Message 2 of 8 28 February 2012 at 3:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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For me, it depends. When visiting frequented tourist destinations, one doesn't need local language in strictest sense. For an all-inclusive holiday and staying in the resort, even staying in Czech language is sometimes enough to get by. And learning few words in local language simply shows your appreciation.
But even now, with widespread knowledge of English, quite often as soon as you leave the beaten path, one needs at least some local language. In Czech republic, at the moment you leave Prague and the few well known tourist destinations, there is no guarantee that you find English speaking shop assistant and buying train or bus ticket can be very adventurous. And pointing and miming gets you only so far... I try always learn at least few tourist phrases in local language, unless I know for sure that one of my languages will help me. Well, it is more cramming - learn fast and forget even faster :) Edited by Majka on 28 February 2012 at 3:59pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 5140 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 3 of 8 28 February 2012 at 5:13pm | IP Logged | ||
I would go so far as to say that A2 is beyond "tourist" level, in that you actually do understand some grammatical construction and concepts (something tourist/phrase books don't really teach.) And at an A2 level you should have a usable vocabulary of at least 1000-1500 words, which seems far beyond what a tourist would use. I also believe that people tend to ascribe an A2 level to their proficiency when, in fact, it's probably not even close to that level. It's very easy for us to assume we're at a higher level than we are, because we're making so much progress quickly, but we usually don't have a firm enough grasp to accurately gauge our correct CEFR level. That the CEFR levels are bandied about too often doesn't help, either. That said, I can't see any harm in learning a language to a "tourist" level, if that is what you plan on using the language for. R. == Edited by hrhenry on 28 February 2012 at 5:49pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| blackdahlia Pro Member United States Joined 4739 days ago 64 posts - 66 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 8 28 February 2012 at 5:22pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think that one should always make an attempt to learn a bit of the language where you are traveling, even if they are likely to speak your language.
I think people respond well to you and I think it make them feel nice when people take the time to learn. Plus, I think people tend to be more willing to help when they see you making an effort. So learn some of the language and then take a dual dictionary so you can look up and point. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| lichtrausch Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5970 days ago 525 posts - 1072 votes Speaks: English*, German, Japanese Studies: Korean, Mandarin | Message 5 of 8 28 February 2012 at 6:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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If I'll only be at the location for a couple days, then out of respect for the locals I'll learn hello, thank you, bye in the local language. If I'll be there for more than a couple weeks, then I find it worth my time to learn a little grammar and basic vocabulary as well. I've never regretted doing so.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6607 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 6 of 8 28 February 2012 at 7:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've never done this really. I either knew the local language at the intermediate level or higher (Finland, Germany) or not at all (France, Sweden, Czech Republic). However I'm hopefully going to Czech Republic and Poland (been there too but just for a few hours) in May and this time I'll learn some 200-300 words, basic grammar and mostly do shadowing. I do have plans to learn these languages though, and they're similar to my native language.
I used to be puzzled by Gunnermark's tips but I suppose our situations are simply different. He travelled a lot, I don't. His recs seem excellent for those who want/need to travel as beginners. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6449 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 8 of 8 28 February 2012 at 10:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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My answer to that is simple: do I plan to use the language as a tourist?
1 person has voted this message useful |
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