The good news is that making progress in language (especially one that you already have basics in) is not all hard work and no fun.
But you have to trust the process and let the fun in – and for adults, that can be surprisingly difficult.
This blog gives you 5 reasons to feel relaxed about your language holiday.
Or to put it another way,
this blog permits you to let the fun in.
It’s a good idea to consider all 5 points before booking any language holiday.
Not all language holidays are the same.
Use these points to help you choose the language school/holiday which suits you (and be well prepared to advantage of the experience once you arrive).
Tips:
As you read, ask yourself, does this apply to me?
If so, it is a good idea to begin to work on this before you start your holiday.
#01 In This Context, You are Not the Expert
We’re each of us experts in our own domains.
That is, we are professionals paid for our unique opinions, experience and expertise.
Subconsciously, we can carry this position with us into new situations.
And we have all had language lessons in the past – so we know what language learning looks like, right?
That makes us experts?
Open Your Mind = Open Your Heart
Language teaching theories have evolved, but the biggest difference is that YOU have changed.
Even if you learned well in mainstream schooling, you are not that person anymore.
How can you know how you best learn as an adult learner, without testing options, styles and experimenting?
And how are you going to measure success?
Language learning is not just about what new structures you can use in class or a list of words.
It’s about what sticks, what grows and feels part of you.
It’s about whether you continue to progress over your lifetime – perhaps you’ll be thinking and dreaming in 2 (or more) languages, in 5 years time?
(Or the opposite – whether you go back home without wanting to speak again).
If you are used to quantifiable, school-like language learning it’s time to relax and not try to control it.
Tips:
Imagine what better language skills look like to you.
Visualise you having them – and trust that the process of getting them may not be entirely logical to you at the time.
Rethink What Language Learning Can Be
#02 Value | Hour Counting
You can relax about ‘getting value‘ or ‘making the most of your time.‘
In a typical week at our language school, you get 15+ hours of direct language coaching with an experienced ELT trainer.
You get a further 20+ immersion activity hours accompanied by a coach.
These are activities designed to get you engaging with spoken, written or aural English throughout a wide range of contexts.
And outside of this, you’ll be talking to your Homestay Hosts in the evening – or with peers on the course, socialising and shopping within our local community.
That’s LOADS.
A Year’s Worth of English in a Week!
In terms of active language experience, that’s the equivalent of taking an English class, one hour per week (give or take a holiday or two) for nearly a year.
Tips:
Don’t be precious about every second: it won’t help.
Savour the moments a new land brings:
Relax with a coffee at the start of the day.
Feel the loch wind in your hair.
Smell the roses (literally).
Sit back, sip wine and enjoy.
Give yourself frequent breaks, and don’t push too hard.
#03 Rest Can Feel Scary
That our society is obsessed with productivity is finally being addressed by the media and authors.
“As a culture, we value productivity. We’re stuck in this cycle of continuous improvement; you can never do well enough and you can always do better,”
“I think a lot of us internalise that. And so, we push ourselves too hard, or we get pushed too hard.”
Vincent Deary, How we Break
As a result, rest feels terrifying.
“We then also undervalue non-productivity, or we equate non-productivity with low self-worth”.
Read the full article here.
Don’t Chase Productivity
In Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It by Oliver Burkeman the author points out that productivity itself is a self-defeating spiral.
Clear out our inbox?
The result is not ‘inbox zero’ but an email account with more emails arriving than ever – because we’re so darn good at replying to them.
This applies to you as there’s always going to be more English to learn.
Don’t wait to get ‘better’.
Get talking!
Tips:
Sometimes it’s time to stop striding forward, take off your boots and chill.
Be Aware of the Contradictions of what You Are Expecting
There’s a clash of cultures if our usual state – being conditioned into being heroically productive, meets a holiday with elements of self-improvement, which is supposed to be relaxing.
Tips:
Decide before you book.
Do you want a BootCamp-style language holiday? Or an adventurous, fall-in-love with-English one?
They are not the same.
Be Kind to Yourself
We know that an overloaded brain doesn’t learn as well as an inspired one!
And learning is tiring.
Yet we need to encourage our clients to commit to taking breaks – as the productivity drive is so strong within all professionals, we had it written in our intentions.
With us, it’s not time for superdrive mode. It’s time to relax, to be.
#04 Give Up on Perfect
This takes us to the next point:
Don’t Aim for Knowing Everything
There’s so much vocabulary, so many WORDS.
There’s no ‘got there’ moment in language, (like if you were climbing a mountain, you reach a definitive peak, and get to survey your achievement).
Tips
It is important that not everything feels like the assent – like hard work, and nothing feels like surveying the view.
Set artificial milestones (like reading 20 pages of a book or learning 10 new vocabulary words).
And reward yourself, regularly, for the effort put in.
A good language school will have lots of fun activities built into their schedule.
Such as this stream train ride!
Enjoy them, you’ve earned it!
#05 You Deserve a Fun Holiday
It’s called a holiday for a reason.
Don’t sit in a classroom.
Live language learning!
Tips
Remember, the simple fact is we just stop doing things we don’t enjoy.
We want you to leave your language holiday energised and excited about English.
To achieve this, some parts of learning need to feel like play.
If you think you’d enjoy socialising and exploring Scotland through landscape, music, wildlife and arts and crafts, we can help!
See out 2024 schedule!
Relax into English
It all sounds easy enough, but in a world which rewards productivity, it isn’t.
Are you ready to relax into English?
Many people aren’t.
I hope this blog has highlighted the potential mindblocks that could hold you back, so that you choose the best language holiday for you with awareness of what you need to learn.
You can also begin to tackle any of these obstacles before you leave, permitting you to fully relax into English on your language holiday.
