Job Discussion Forums

[lit46]

How important is it, in your opinion, to be able to speak the language of the country you move to BEFORE you move?

[Def]

Do you mean in terms of school/employment related stuff, or just general living? I can't really advise how helpful/important it would be in terms of functioning at work, but having lived in foreign countries I think it's pretty important to have a basic understanding of the language of anywhere you're moving to long-term, before you arrive.

Even if it's just simple greetings, asking for directions, ordering food, and such. Anything that makes life a little easier for you when you're trying to adjust to a new location/culture is worthwhile.

[Golightly]

When I moved to Turkey, I didn't speak a single word, and I had possibly the most useless Teach Yourself Guide imaginable. However, the fear of dying of starvation soon provided an incentive to get my linguistic act together.

[william wallace]

This answers that age old ESL/EFL debate.
In China it would be excellent,as you could communicate with the Chinese in Mandarin, to circumvent learning,but enable understanding. This is done by the Chinese teachers always shortcutting the necessary language skills such as circumlocution/paraphrasing. The temptation to stop the questioning and searching (puzzlement period) by providing a direct translation in their language is quite strong, and strongest in those whose egos seek to validate their long efforts in that foreign language.Brilliant!

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

If you are going to be in a rural area, then it is likely that nobody will speak your language, so everyday life would be quite difficult without any help, especially in a country where the alphabet isn't usually used.

Of course you can always get a phrasebook, a good textbook and start learning on your own either before leaving, or on the flight, or when you get there and haven't eaten for a few days because you dont know how to say "This isn't, like...uh... DOG, is it?!?!?!?!"

[mdk]

I think it depends upon where you go. In Barcelona, for instance, there are so many English speakers that you do not feel very isolated.

My first job was in Tomsk, Siberia. There might have been a half dozen English speakers in this city of 500,000. If you get into a situation like that and don't speak the language you had better be a very self-reliant laddie.

In every class I have ever seen, the students want to know how many languges you speak. If you have never learned a foreign language they are going to wonder whether you are a realio-trulio language teacher or some sort of laboratory exhibit - like some sort of video cassette that answers questions. I have seen ESL teachers who are cast into that role. They put on a good effort, but you can see the students wondering why their teacher can't himsrlf do what he is supposed to be teaching them - learn a foreign language.

[coffeedrinker]

It's an interesting question - on the one hand I think it is important to try to learn at least something of the basics before you go, even if it is a handful of phrases and some pronunciation rules if applicable.

But as we all know as EFL teachers it takes time to learn a language well...I don't know that learning several phrases will show students that you have also mastered a foreign language (theirs). I also think there is a big difference for English speakers between learning a language like Spanish or French and some of the rarer and harder languages.

I don't want to say it's not important to learn some of the language - but maybe more generally important to recognize that it's valuable and make an effort, and, rather than trying to match your students in language knowledge, to acknowledge that what they are doing is genuinely difficult and can't be done in a matter of months.