Learning to speak English in an English-speaking country is not the only way to go, but it sure is the most rewarding. English has taken over to become the global language for business and travel. Italians, French, Spanish and Germans can for example now communicate via the ability to speak a common language that is not their own – English.
However, one of the problems linked to learning and practicing the English language in a non-native setting is that it can lead to mistakes that rest uncorrected. On learning and practicing any language in a mother tongue country, the end product will ultimately be of greater quality and the process will, of course, be significantly more enjoyable.
Another difficulty with studying English in a non-English speaking country is that motivation is quickly lost without practice situations beyond the classroom. Classmates are also more often than not all speakers of the same native language, so it is hard to enforce an English only lesson. In an English-speaking country, the English school participants tend to be from all over and thus the only way to understand one another – including the teacher’s instructions – is to converse in English!
When learning within an English-speaking environment, the everyday situations push one to utilize the lessons learned in the classroom. The lesson is in fact not over on leaving the confines of the classroom, and there is a real need to make every lesson count to confront those everyday social situations and succeed in finding work.
The inability to communicate may lead to frustration and embarrassing situations that strengthen the desire to learn and not make the same mistakes twice. Furthermore, making friends and expressing your sense of humor and intelligence is almost impossible without mastering the local language. Many words, slang, and expressions are not to be learned via a textbook and thus real life is the only setting that will complete your education in the English language.
