When I arrived in the UK in 2007, I could not speak English. I couldn’t even introduce myself properly. It was a tough journey through mistakes, funny moments but also frustrating moments. For me, learning English was essential especially that my goals were to study and work in the UK, and without knowing it, I was pretty much useless here.

These days, travelling abroad is often more affordable than travelling from London to Manchester as prices can be as high as £300 one way while picking up a last-minute deal to travel to Spain including transfer, flight and hotel can be done for as cheap as £150 per person for a week! I know how crazy it sounds, but that’s the reality.

As much as travelling can be fun, people often find themselves getting frustrated while abroad while want to buy something in shops, find a direction or order food in a restaurant. In most tourist places, the bar and hotel staff will know English, German or Spanish as most common languages but if you walk to more local locations, here you can find some issues. These days, people prefer to communicate through social media or in person and sometimes even learning the basics of a country you wish to visit can be very helpful. It can save you loads of money where people often overcharge tourists if they don’t know the worth of a product or service they use abroad. It also can be useful for simple socialising with local people, as you can make friends around the world.

Learning g foreign language for a career can only help you and never harm. You can strike better deals, understand more of a country if you know the language. Even if you not travel but work for a company who have international branches around the world, it can help to get a pay rise or find a better job.

People often think that it may be a little late for them to learn a foreign language due to their age or simply they think they have not enough time for it. As a foreigner in the UK on a daily basis, I hear, how people praise that I can speak fluently in English while being a native Polish. People appreciate the fact, that put so much effort into it. Living in the UK and using the language on a daily basis has enabled me to learn every day, and still, I am learning.

I wanted to give you a few tips on how to learn a foreign language. You will see it can be done much easier and faster than you think.

1.Your local College or University.

If you are already an enrolled student, your college or university will offer extra courses mostly at no charge. Time schedule is different and you can suit this around your studies. This often can help you score extra points for your degree as well. You can inquire at your university school board about it, and they will be able to help you locate language and time scale around your studies.
Also, for those who are not enrolled in a certain college or University, there are also courses available for everyone who is not a student. Perhaps, there will be an extra charge but mostly it will be a part-time evening session which you can do after work as a hobby. You will have mixed students and often opportunities like students meet-ups after work.

2. ESOL.

This course is specifically designed for foreign students wanting to learn English in the UK. The course offers multiple levels from begging to advanced. You will learn along with people from other countries. This is a great idea for those who wish to learn English before work or University in the UK, as accredited and accepted by all Universities. This is the way how I learned English in the UK when I arrived here. You will also make friends for life. I am gained many friends from around the world this way.

3. Learning online.

This can be an easy way to learn a language in your own spare time. You will have assignments, supportive tutors and deadlines to keep you motivated. You can learn about your travels or if you wish to become a tutor and up your teaching skills. With a website like languagetrainers.co.uk you can search for many languages from Spanish, German to French to more. You can pick your level and learn whether for your tests, travel or business trip. You will have Skype sessions with the real tutor which will help you learn faster to a more advanced level.

4. Pocket dictionaries.

This is a fun way to learn while on the go. If you travel, pick up a pocket dictionary with a small talks guide. these often includes ready sentences and answers you can ask to find directions, order food or simply chat to people when you meet while socialising.

5. Smartphone apps.

You can also download smartphone apps to your phone where you can atomically translate all conversations, simply put the person on speaker and the app will translate your conversations. There are multiple apps available so pick the one that best suits your travel.