How to Create Your Own Study Abroad Experience and Learn a New Language WITHOUT Spending Thousands of Dollars in Tuition and Countless Years Studying
It was January of 2013, and I was packing my bags for a 5-month study abroad experience in Quito, Ecuador…
After being required to study a foreign language from 7th-10th grade, it was finally time to put my Spanish skills to the test and immerse myself in the language and culture of a foreign country.
You see, after those 4 years of mandatory Spanish, which I thought were a complete waste of time…
I gained a new appreciation and desire to truly master the language.
It could have been the fact that the population of Latinos was growing exponentially in the United States, and I saw an economic opportunity…
Or that I wanted to travel around the world and Spanish seemed like a useful language that is spoken in at least 20 countries…
Or that I wanted to be able to meet Latina women and impress them with my ability to speak their native tongue….
Or all of the above.
All of this came flashing in front of my eyes, as I packed up my two suitcases and prepared myself for the greatest test thusfar…
A full cultural immersion…
Where I would be living with a local family, taking classes in Spanish, and trying to navigate the day-to-day life of a foreign land.
Getting to this point took a lot of work…
Not only those 4 years in grade school…
But, another 4 university classes and 2 years to be exact…
Which brought the total amount of time invested into learning Spanish…
To 6 years.
6 years sitting in a classroom, listening to a teacher run through verb tenses, pronouns, adjectives, greetings, etc…
Trying to be a sponge, soaking in all of that information…
When in reality, I felt more like a rock that the information just ran right over, absorbing nothing in the process.
“How in the world have I spent 6 years studying Spanish and am still unable to speak the language?” I thought to myself.
Sure, all these years of classes have primed my mind for the ability to speak the language…
I knew the basic greetings and words to survive…
You know, like “hola,” “cómo estás,” and “dónde está el baño?”…
But was still unable to form sentences and truly express what it was that I wanted to say.
I assured myself that this cultural immersion was my opportunity to finally breakthrough and learn the language once and for all…
I was going to be a sponge that absorbed anything and everything in “español”…
I flipped the mental switch in my head, where my first language was English….
To “yo hablo español.”
From that point forward, it was my mission to read in Spanish, listen to music in Spanish, watch movies and TV shows in Spanish, write in Spanish, and most importantly… speak in Spanish (no matter how stupid I sounded).
I knew I had to get uncomfortable before I felt comfortable…
And that everything I wanted to achieve (wealth, travel, relationships) was on the other side of this discomfort.
So, there I was…
Saying my goodbyes to my family and getting read to board a flight to completely new continent: South America…
Where I was to live with an Ecuadorian family, take university-level classes in Culture, History, and International Business (all taught in Spanish), and try to navigate the public transportation systems of a city I have never been to and in a language that I can barely speak…
“This should be interesting.” I thought to myself.
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
As I pondered that question, a bunch of “worse-case scenarios” came pouring in…
I could live with an unwelcoming family that only is housing me for the money, not because they actually want to help some gringo learn their language…
But at least I would have a bed and a roof over my head.
I could completely fail all my university classes and waste a bunch of money on tuition, as well as 5 months of time where I would have to take the classes again…
But at least I would have this amazing cultural experience of living in a foreign country.
I could get kidnapped and held for ransom…
But once I get released, I would have one heck of a story to write a book.
After thinking through these scenarios, I realized that the things I worried about, weren’t really worth worrying about…
That most of these problems and hurdles, were all just in my own head.
Luckily, none of those worse-case scenarios came to reality…
And I stayed with an amazing family that cared very deeply about my educational experience, almost to a point where it became frustrating some days because I wasn’t allowed to speak English in the house.
I somehow managed to pass my classes, even though in some, I was the only foreigner in a class full of Ecuadorians…
And I often skipped classes after going out the night before with friends.
I never did get kidnapped by the cartel, like I had imagined after watching all those episodes of “Locked Up Abroad”…
But, I did meet a ton of incredible people with giant hearts…
That welcomed me to their country, as if it were my own.
Those five months spent in Ecuador, ended up being five of the most growth-filled months of my life…
I went in to the experience with a basic understanding of Spanish (even after 6 years) and came out with the ability to have a conversation with any local (just 3 months into my experience).
So how in the heck did I get there?
Now that I look back, all of my growth in Spanish can be boiled down to 4 Key Principles…
1.) Define Your Why — if you don’t know “why” you are learning a new language and are just doing it because it seems like a good idea… you will never succeed. You must have a clear reason for learning this new skill and feel an emotional connection to the success or failure of this new endeavor. Remember my first 4 years of studying Spanish in grade school? I didn’t learn anything because I didn’t understand “why” I needed to know Spanish. It wasn’t until university, when I realized the importance of learning a new language for work, travel and relationships, that I was finally able to absorb the information and speak it conversationally.
2.) A Brick per Day Builds a House — you have to build a strong foundation from the beginning. Once you make the “all-in” commitment to learning a new language, like Spanish, you have to make a daily effort to learning new words and building out your vocabulary EVERY DAY. If learning a new language is actually important to you, make it a priority. This might mean staying in on a Friday night or waking up early before work to get some studying in. Before you know it, your daily “bricklaying” actions will have compounded and you will have enough knowledge to fill a house.
3.) Immerse Yourself — this was the real game-changer in my journey… going to a country where Spanish was spoken and living with a local family — spending 80% of my time actually speaking the language, even if I didn’t know what to say. You could spend years studying Spanish and living in the U.S., but your level of fluency will hit a plateau and you will stop seeing growth at some point. Why? Because you have never fully immersed yourself. You may spend 2 hours per day studying Spanish, but the moment that your class ends, you are back to speaking English with the people you encounter in your daily life. Your mind never made the “mental switch” from your native language to the new language, which is absolutely crucial in achieving mastery with a new skill. Travel to a country where the language you want to learn is spoken, spend 3–6 months living with a local family, and practice EVERY DAY.
4.) You Have to Sound Stupid Before You Can Be Smart — this is the largest hurdle that most people can’t get over… they over-analyze and place so much pressure on themselves to speak perfect, that they never end up speaking at all. We all sound stupid at some point or another, especially when it comes to speaking a foreign language… you just have to embrace that fear and have the courage to choose discomfort. Remember your “why” for embarking on this journey in the first place and make a conscious effort to get better each and every day. It’s a process… and you won’t be fluent overnight. But, if you truly immerse yourself in the language and shed the layers of “self-judgement” that come with being inadequate in learning something new… I truly believe you can become fluent in any language within 6 months.
So, the real question that you are wondering….
How can I craft my own study abroad experience and learn a new language without spending thousands of dollars and countless years studying??
Now that you understand the 4 Key Principles to Learning a New Language, I’m going to give you the 4 Simple Steps that will allow you to not only become fluent in less than 6 months, but will also save you thousands of dollars in tuition fees and countless wasted hours in the process.
As you can see, study abroad experiences are invaluable…
I highly recommend all college students to spend 1 semester abroad in a country where the first language is not English.
But, what if you are past the point of college or don’t have enough money to pay the high tuition costs of a study abroad program??
If I had to carve out just one little piece of my study abroad experience and make it the focal point of learning a new language…
It would be the part of living with a local family and only speaking the local language everyday for 3–6 months.
That is at the heart of it all…
And by itself can be the make or break for your success in learning a new language.
The classes were helpful, but not nearly as beneficial as being forced to be uncomfortable and speak the language every day at home… being curious and asking lots of questions.
So, how can you craft this personal experience for yourself in 4 Simple Steps?
1.) Get very clear on what language you want to learn and why — you must have an emotional attachment to the outcome. Start with your “why,” then focus on “how” you will do it, and finally “what” you’ll actually do. Need help defining your why? Simon Sinek explains this best: https://youtu.be/7zFeuSagktM
2.) Build out your base — before you have your finished house (fluency), you must begin by laying one brick. Think of these bricks as the sturdy foundation that you will one day be able to stand upon. A great free app to get you started is DuoLingo, which is a fun and engaging way to learn new vocabulary and sentence structure.
Once you have built the daily habit of learning new words, start practicing with a native speaker. “Wait, but Drew… I don’t know anyone that speaks Spanish.” You don’t need to. Another free app that I have used quite extensively as a means of practicing what I’m learning, is Tandem. Think of Tandem as the “Facebook of Language Learning”… it’s a place for people to connect over their common interest in learning a new language and offers the ability to have a language exchange online, no matter what language you speak or what language you want to learn. So as a native English speaker that wants to practice Spanish, there is someone on Tandem that is a native Spanish-speaker that wants to practice their English. You can practice via text or video chat, taking turns switching between the two languages, so that you both receive value from the exchange. These exchanges can start off informal at first, but can become structured once you find a partner that you click with… in which you can introduce different learning techniques, like reading children’s stories and listening to music together. You’ll be amazed by how much this helps.
3.) Create your own study abroad experience — while I absolutely loved my study abroad experience, from the family that housed me, to making friends with the other students and locals… the most valuable educational experiences came from outside the university classroom. So why in the heck did I pay a full semester’s tuition of $5–6k to take classes at the university, if the majority of my education came from outside the classroom?? Well, mainly because I needed the credits to graduate back home.. and the only way was to take the classes and pass them. So, if your only goal is to learn a new language and you aren’t doing something just because you want to check off a box… there is an easier and better way to create a fully immersive language learning experience in a foreign country.
With home-sharing sites like Airbnb, where you can rent a bedroom in someone’s home for as little as $8–12/night, basically anywhere in the world.. you have the opportunity to get the immersion without paying the inflated prices. So, going back to before my study abroad experience in Ecuador… instead of paying the thousands of dollars in tuition to the university, which paid the family a small housing stipend, I could instead search for a room for rent in Quito, Ecuador, using Airbnb.
This would provide me the daily immersion and practice with my host, while having a home-base to take further classes with a private tutor and explore the city. Because at the end of the day, just living with a local isn’t enough… you do need to be taking some sort of group or private classes, which become much affordable when you aren’t paying for university overhead or taking the classes in a more developed country, like the U.S.
Private Spanish tutors can be found for $7–15/hour in Latin America, with cheaper options for group classes. Taking just 2–4 hours of Spanish classes per day, coupled with practicing in your daily life (using the public transport system, buying groceries, having dinner with your host, etc.)… you will see massive improvement.
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4.) Make it your goal to sound stupid everyday — once you are abroad and immersed in the language you are learning, actually practice what you are learning. Take advantage of every conversation and think of it as a learning experience. Pay attention when others are speaking and try to imitate their accent. You’ll sound stupid at first, but with time you’ll form your own unique accent that will become as natural as walking.
Watch movies in English with Spanish subtitles, or if you are feeling brave… Spanish with Spanish subtitles. Listen to local music on youtube with the lyrics. Read short poems and make note of new words. Write a daily journal of your day in Spanish. Basically, do as many things as possible to be uncomfortable throughout your day. Before you know it, you’ll realize a major shift in your confidence level and be speaking conversationally, and soon fluently… in no time. Learning a new language is a life-long journey… I still feel “stupid” on a daily basis, even after speaking it after all these years.
So, what language do you want to learn? I hope my story gives you the courage to take that first step forward and to begin learning it today.
Ludwig Wittgenstein said it best…
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
Want to open up new doors to the world? Learn a foreign language.
Wishing you the best on your language journey!
To follow my journey to fluency, follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
P.s. — If you want to take unlimited Spanish classes with a private tutor, all from the comforts of your home… I’ve partnered up with BaseLang to offer you $10 OFF your first month. Sign-up now for a risk-free first month of unlimited Spanish classes!
