One of the biggest worries people have when going to a new country is the language barrier. Communication with the locals will not be immediate, and it is something that will have to be built up over time. Here are 10 tips to help you get started when trying to overcome the language barrier.
When we live in our hometown for too long we can reach a certain level of ‘stuckness’. We go to the same places, do the same things each weekend and don’t make much effort to meet new people because of our existing group of friends. We feel that we have enough friends, so why should…
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It seems obvious to most ESL teachers to approach language education by teaching the meanings of individual English words. After all, words make up the most basic unit of meaning. If letters are the atoms of communication, words are the countless combinations of them that make up so many new and differentiated molecular combinations.
I used to live in Bali. I haven’t met many people on my travels that can say that they used to live there, many pass through and stay a little while but living there is different, it’s natures beauty blended with tourism’s destruction, it’s an island of contrast.
Nobody enjoys getting ill, usually we have home comforts to help us power through sickness, you have your favorite blanky in front of the TV watching your favorite shows whilst eating that famous chicken soup your mom has dropped over to you to make you feel better. Now imagine that situation minus all of those nice things, you are in a foreign country where nobody speaks your language and nobody is bringing you chicken soup. Being sick abroad sucks, so here is some advice to help avoid or at least cope with sickness abroad.
Why is it that whenever we are faced with big decisions our first instinct is to run off to our friends, parents and peers and ask them what we should do? “Which University should I attend?” “What career should I be pursuing?” “Do you think I should spend that money I don’t have on a vintage 1967 Camaro?” (By the way, the answer to that last question is yes). The truth is, no one knows you better than yourself, and so no one is going to know what it is that you want better than you do. When you’re trying to decide on any big life choice and you want to pick someone’s brain, it’s a good idea to start with your own.
So let me paint the picture for you, you are moving to a different country in search of work, education or just new experiences altogether. You are so excited to go you could wet your pants. You arrive and for a while everything is just dandy, but then you start to feel sad, things that were once a novelty to you are now a thing of annoyance and you just feel like giving it all up. Welcome my friend, to culture shock.
Reach To Teach Staff Writer Samantha Simile writes about her experiences dealing with homesickness and life abroad. Here are tips to help you realized that homesickness happens to everyone.