Travelling can be a great asset to many factors of your life. People travel to find themselves, to find new relationships, answers to questions in their lives, to discover new places and cultures, to broaden their horizons,… We could continue adding things to this list for hours and hours it seems. Fact is that travelling will make you experience situations you have not encountered before and will benefit your cultural understanding and horizon.
This trend is especially significant for the millennial generation that little by little are joining the workforce and are becoming a predominant generation in terms of percentage of travelers. Their unique upbringing, their consumer habits as well as their interest for other cultures make them very interested travellers. Their ambitions about obtaining life experiences increased the necessity to break the language barriers and makes the importance for language learning crucial to fulfil their adventurous needs.
The Best Reasons to Travel
Travelling can broaden your horizon and understanding for other people and yourself, as you would have not expected before travelling. You have to deal with unexpected events, unprecedented situations and hold conversations in languages you do not even speak. Most of these situations mean challenges that you have to deal with immediately. You will make new friends along the way and strangers become companions. You will see and experience new cultures first hand. You will probably not have a clue what is on the plate in front of you but you know for sure that it tastes delicious. Travelling is all about learning and that is what makes travelling so great.
Travelling to English-Speaking Countries
There is a wide range of English-speaking countries that you can travel. Many Europeans travel Australia for a while, whilst Australians might be more inclined to travel around Europe. One important factor when travelling to English-speaking countries around the world is to be aware that there might be differences to the English you might have learnt before. Pronunciation varies a lot across the English-speaking countries, let alone even within one of them, just take the United Kingdom, for example. An English native from the Highlands will most definitely sound very different to a banker in Canary Wharf. Furthermore, the vocabulary and meaning of things might be very different from what you would expect. You might know by now that flip flops are called thongs in Australian, whereas in the US that would refer to something completely different.
Australians use many abbreviations as forms of diminutives. See you this arvo refers to the time of the day that most people would know as afternoon. In addition, when you put some meat on the barbie you are not decorating a kid’s doll with raw meat but you would like some tasty grilled goods from the barbecue. To confuse matters a little more, other English speakers might try and make fun of Australians by saying the phrase shrimp on the barbie because of the Australian pronunciation of the <i> sound in shrimp in combination with the word barbie, however Australians would actually refer to this crustacean as a prawn.
Useful travel phrases and English vocabulary for tourists
It is always helpful to know some useful phrases and phrasal verbs in the language of the country you are travelling to. Most locals will appreciate some basic knowledge of the language. If you consider travelling English-speaking countries, you might come across terms and phrases you have never heard before or are very specific for a certain context. In the following, you will find a table with useful phrases and vocabulary for travelling.
| Basics
Hello Goodbye Excuse me / Sorry Please Thank you Yes / No What’s your name? My name is … Do you speak …? I don’t understand. |
Accommodation
Campsite Guesthouse Hotel Youth hostel Do you have a room? Single room Double room How much is the room? Is breakfast included in the price? Is the price for two people? Per night |
| Eating & Drinking
What would you recommend? Do you have vegetarian / vegan food? What kind of meat is this? I’ll have… I’d like the …, please. Could I have ….? The bill / check, plase.* Can I see the menu, please. A glass of… A bottle of… |
Transport & Directions
Where is the… What is the address? Can you show me on the map? One-way ticket Return ticket To go by bus / plane / train / boat / car Do you need to book a ticket in advance? Can I reserve a seat? What is the best route to get to …? How many times do you have to change? |
| Emergencies
Help! Go away! Call a doctor! Call the police! What is the number for the police? I’m lost. I’m ill. Where is the nearest hospital? I need to go to Accident & Emergency (A&E). Where are the toilets?** |
*You will probably see the word bill more in the UK, whereas in the US check is more common.
** You will find different names for these facilities. In the UK bathroom is probably the most common. People in the US often refer to it as restroom. Toilets are a safe option in both countries, might come across quite direct in certain circumstances, but let’s face it, you neither rest nor are you going to take a bath.
Click to learn more English vocabulary or useful phrases.
Prepare Yourself for Travelling the World with Lingoda
Want to improve your English in time for your next trip? Here at Lingoda, all our classes are taught by native speakers and you can choose from a light to a super-intensive load of private or group classes. If you are wanting to travel the English-speaking world, this is a great way to prepare yourself for what you can expect. With English-speakers from all over the world, you will find different accents, ranges of vocabulary and pronunciations. Improving your English skills with our flexible timetables is easy; give it a try now by booking an Englsih trial class.
First step improving your English with Lingoda, next step exploring the world!
