A handful of foreign phrases are all most British holidaymakers know

Brits love the sun, the beaches and the food of other countries but are reluctant to learn the basics of other languages, a new survey finds.

A poll carried out by the British Council reveals that this can cause problems for many British people when they take their annual holidays.

Many prefer to point at a menu when ordering food to avoid trying to pronounce words in another language. Unsurprisingly, this means Brits abroad often have no idea what they ate after ordering something from a menu they could not understand.

Words and phrases British holiday makers do know

The most popular holiday destinations for British tourists have remained consistent for almost fifty years. Spain remains the top holiday choice and is closely followed by France, Italy and Portugal.

But still, the language knowledge most British holidaymakers have is limited to a handful of basic phrases.

The typical British tourist knows only ten French words or phrases, seven Spanish and just three Italian:

FRENCH 

 

Hello (Bonjour)
Goodbye (Au revoir)
Yes (Oui)
Thank you (Merci)
My name is... (Je m'appelle...)
Do you speak English? (Parlez-vous Anglais?)
Good evening (Bon soir)
Wine (Vin)
What time is it? (Quelle heure est-il?)

SPANISH

Hello (Hola)
Yes (Si)
Thank you (Gracias)
Goodbye (Adios)
Good morning (Buenos dias)
Good evening (Buenas noches)

Beer (Cerveza)

ITALIAN

Hello (Salve)
Goodbye (Arrivederci)
Yes (Si)

Never too late to learn a new language

At IH London we know that this is only part of the picture, as every year thousands of British people take evening and weekend language courses at our central London language school.

Most recently we launched a popular package of practice lessons in French, Italian and Spanish. These courses are designed to give people enough language knowledge to get by on holiday and provide a foundation on which to build language learning.

Our practice lessons cost only £25 and can be taken as a two week intensive course or 5 week semi-intensive. All taught in the evening at our Covent Garden language school.

The next scheduled practice lessons in French, Italian and Spanish begin in early November and can be booked online.

Gap year students train to teach English

This year an estimated 24,000 students plan to take a gap year before starting university and many gap year students are training to teach English as a foreign language to fund their travels and improve their CVs.

The arrival of A-level results means hundreds of thousands of students are starting to plan for life at university - or what to do during their gap year.

Recent research by ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) shows students are becoming savvier about how they spend their gap year. 

Many gap year students are looking not only at ways to earn money as they travel, they are also thinking about improving future employment prospects by adding something significant to their CVs.

ABTA’s research finds that applications for TEFL training courses have doubled in the past twelve months as more students plan trips to non- English speaking countries.

Whilst the USA and Australia are still amongst the most popular destinations for gap year travellers, Peru, Vietnam, Brazil and Thailand have made it in to top ten of countries gap year students intend to visit in 2013.

For gap year students thinking of teaching overseas it may be advisable to look at where there is more demand for native English speaking teachers. In China, for example, there is an ever growing need for English teachers.

There are a number of dedicated jobs TEFL boards:

• Just TEFL Jobs
• TEFL Job Centre
• UK TEFL
• Guardian Jobs - TEFL Jobs

Before applying for jobs, it's probably a good idea to find the most relevant and best TEFL training courses.

Qualifications and training to teach English abroad

CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching toAdults) is the most popular English language teaching qualification as it is also the most recognised English teaching qualification around the world. 

No previous English language teaching experience is required to study for  CELTA which makes it a popular choice for gap year students.

The CELTA is awarded upon passing the course, which includes six hours of assessed teaching practice to real EFL classes of at least two different ability levels. 

The course grade is determined primarily by the performance of the candidates in this teaching practice, but there are also four written assignments due throughout the course, which are graded on a pass/fail basis only. 

CELTA courses at International House London can be taken on a full-time basis over four weeks with classes running Monday to Friday, 09.00 - 16.00 or 11.30 - 18.30.

There is also the option of taking a part-time CELTA over 12 weeks (120 hours) in the evening or at weekends depending on the course start date.

Findout more about training to teach English as a foreign language and apply online