The answer is NO. You don’t need to live in a foreign country to learn a foreign language, and the idea behind our teaching method is based on that concept.
If you know me, you know that I lived in Spain my whole life, I am Spanish. I only moved to England when I turned 18, and by then, I was already able to blend in and speak like a native. What is my secret? Some might say that I’m better at learning languages than others, but that wouldn’t be true. I am learning Italian as an adult and I find it as difficult as the next person. I also didn’t have any English relatives, and my wonderful mother who taught me English is not English. So how did I do it?
I absolutely loved the English language, and as hard as it might have been, I immersed myself in it as much as I possibly could. And I did that without half the technology and the means that we have right now.
Some people think that language immersion equates to living in a foreign country, but it doesn’t have to be. It is true that once you’re there, with the right attitude towards learning, one is more likely to learn the language quicker than someone who doesn’t live there. But in today’s world, it is not necessary. You can spend years learning French to a proficient level without having to visit Paris.
However, there are many benefits of traveling to these places while you’re learning a new language. So if you’re able to, I recommend it. Many of our students try to visit these countries at least once or twice a year. And even though they might not learn a lot on these trips, they get to reinforce and confirm what they have learned in the past few months. It gives them a boost of energy, excitement, and motivation, and it reminds them of the value of learning a foreign language. I love seeing the light in their eyes when they’re back from their trips. It is delightful to hear them talking about how they have applied everything that they have been learning onto a real experience. So it is definitely very valuable to keep the motivation going!
The bottom line is, there are an infinite amount of things that you can do in today’s wonderfully connected world to immerse yourself in a foreign language. So if this is what is stopping you from taking the step, start today, immerse yourself now! Learn how to speak a foreign language.