refresh your English before a trip
Refresh your English before traveling abroad
Like it or not, English is the universal language, a language that will get us out of trouble over whether we travel to one country or another. English is usually the second language of many countries and the most used language as far as tourism is concerned. It is the international language and the medium of conversation that is going to make you feel closer to home.
It is highly advisable to refresh your English before starting a trip abroad, thus can travel without problems most of the world. Nothing makes you feel more tourist in a destination arrival not understand a word. If you've been in that situation do not understand anything, (information boards, signs, paging messages, etc.) that feeling of being completely oblivious to what is happening around you and you feel unable to communicate with others. The situation of not being understood in a foreign country is the worst that can happen to you, because it creates frustration, overwhelm and worst of all, you can ruin the fantastic trip you had planned.
That it may not pass this, follow some of these tips that can save you and make your trip more helpful and nice.
The first thing you need is to know what our level of English, where we are at the time of undertaking the journey, so you can choose the appropriate measures to start preparing for the trip tools. This is very important to choose materials, we know it is equally counterproductive who works with a book that is too easy, like who works with a book too difficult, because they end up discouraging to not understand anything.
A very useful tool to know what our level of English is to enter the official website http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/es/test-your-english/ Cambridge exams and will make a test of 25 questions with which have a good idea of what level you are.
Once you've made the text level, you get a score, which will correspond to any of the 5 levels of English in the world. Remember when in doubt between two levels. 99% of English learners know more English than they think.
More than one you would have loved it in our travels we accompany a person interpretation to help us find the word that we are unable to say or understand the native before us trying to tell us how to get to a street, park, train station . Well, now you have the solution to your Smartphone, a breakthrough technology that will solve life in more than one situation, sorry for your friend the translator who now no longer have an excuse to join the tour.
A good help in translating small sentences, are the new mobile apps as Android and iPhone here are some of the most interesting applications to manage in your travels:
for iPhone
Say Hi Translate: This application has up to 40 different languages, it is best to have simultaneous translation of conversation, ie when you talk, the program translates written and voice what you mean in the selected language. It also lets you control the speed of the audio translation. The app is very useful if your language skills are very basic or no.
iTranslate: This new application has more than 70 languages, allows the translation of words (like a dictionary), phrases and text (contextual translation). You can search by text or voice. This is useful if you have a basic knowledge of the language or medium.
Google Translator: The Translator known renews Google Mobile allows searching by voice and text search results offers in addition to the translation of the word chosen a list of words that have the same meaning and the option of listening to hear the pronunciation. It is useful when you do not know a word.
for Android
Tourist language: This application contains a database of phrases you take that are very useful while traveling depending on the scenario or situation where you are. It works like a paper phrasebook. And then choose the language you indicate the situation in which you find yourself (in the restaurant, transport, hotel ...) and the application will provide a series of phrases most used. It also includes aid pronunciation.
Phrasebooks paper
If you do not get along with new technologies, and prefer the paper or when traveling prefer to do it offline, an essential guide in your backpack is the classic guide to conversation. One of the best of the publisher Anaya. It is known as guide 'Say it with finger', available in 12 different languages. If you dare not say yourself, you can always point the finger phrase. The information is divided into up to 60 situations where a traveler can find. In each of the situations the phrase is in Spanish and in the chosen language. There is also a dictionary with over 2,100 words including definition and pronunciation. The guide is very useful, especially if you are traveling to a country where most people do not speak English.
Other options to refresh your English before traveling can be, watch movies and series in English, listen to the radio, participate in a conversation club, etc. Either choice is good to accustom the ear and practice some language after another against travel. our English courses abroad