English Learning Community and Resources

Kaixo, friends! 

Do you think it’s important to learn the language of your host country even if it’s not the target language of your mobility program? 

For example: Perhaps you’re traveling from Turkey to Hungary for a semester at university and all your classes are in English. Or maybe you’re in Denmark for an internship, but the working language in the office is English. Do you think it’s still important to learn the host country’s local language? 

JOURNEY INTO AN ANCIENT LANGUAGE

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao 

Recently, I visited Bilbao where I expected to hear and improve my Spanish, but what I didn’t know was how much I would fall in love with the original language of the region: Basque or Euskera. 

Travelling through the Spanish Basque Country, I discovered the beautiful, mysterious and intriguing language of the Basque people- and how fiercely proud they are of their language, heritage, culture, and rich landscape. 

My eyes first fell on the language when I travelled from France to Spain by bus and saw traffic signs that I couldn’t understand. What was this language that used a lot of Xs and Zs??  

I was immediately transfixed and so curious about the language, history, and culture; that I made it my mission to meet as many Basque people as I could and learn as much as possible during my short stay.  

BE SOCIAL! MAKE FRIENDS ! DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT

What’s great about travelling is you discover just how many other wanderers and globe trekkers there are out there who are just as eager to meet and do fun activities together while learning a language. In addition to that, there are tons of locals who also join these groups because they’re happy to share their language and be a local guide to their country and culture. Group hikes, language exchange meetups, bilingual trivia games are just a few of the fun things I did while in Basque Country. 

Whenever I went to language exchange events and mentioned how much I loved the Basque language and wanted to learn it, everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – told me that the language was too hard to learn. This includes people who were born and raised there! But, I wasn’t deterred. In fact, I found Basque easier to pronounce than Spanish. I even sang Basque karaoke with some new friends because it was so easy to join right in. 

BE SURE TO LEAVE THE BIG CITIES

Flysch Coast Zumaia

My quest to learn Basque took me deeper into the quieter areas of the countryside.  
 
The Basque region has an astonishingly good public transit system that includes the metro, local and regional buses, trains, and more. This is how I zigzagged across the region with ease and in total comfort surrounded by some of the friendliest and most helpful people I’ve ever come across. Especially the bus drivers!  

If you want to feel like you’ve stepped off planet Earth and entered an entirely new world, go to Zumaia and the Flysch Coast. The rock formations will have you wondering just how on earth these things were formed. How many millions of years did it take to make these striations? And why is the rock pink?! 

I also went to Durango to spend a few days exploring and when I returned to Bilbao and spoke about it at one of the language exchange meetups, one woman was so bewildered; she asked, “But why????! What’s out there in Durango? I’ve never been there myself! What’s the point?” 

Hahaha! It was so funny to me that she felt it was a complete waste of time because Durango wasn’t famous or well-known. What she didn’t know was I ate some of the best pintxos of my life, I got to see more of daily community rituals in a small village, and that Durango is where I really mastered the pronunciation of saying, “eskerrik asko” which is “thank you” in Basque.  

Exploring the smaller villages around Bilbao, I deepened my immersion in Basque because it is the predominant language outside of the larger cities. And though I ordered my beloved pintxos in Spanish, I took every opportunity to use the bits of Basque I learned to say hello, thank you, goodbye. It’s not much, but it’s a great start and the local residents really appreciated the effort.  

GOING BACK HOME.

To be totally honest, I didn’t want to leave.  

I was already IN paradise! Why would I leave such a marvelous place where I was eating so well, learning two languages at once, meeting lots of friendly people, plus discovering the mixture of Basque and Spanish cultures all at the same time – how could I dare to leave it all?!  

But, alas, I did. I finally dragged myself back on the bus knowing that; hey, I can always go back. I’m just across the border, after all. And next time, with friends! 

SO, WHAT ABOUT YOU? Continue the conversation in the "Basque Country Chronicles" series in our forums.
 
Are you learning the local language even though it may not be part of your studies or internship?

What are some fun ways that you practice your target language? 

Get some more English practice by telling us your favorite food discoveries in your host country.  

How can learning a new language be a great way for you to make friends while living abroad? 

Bonus Questions: 

Are any of you doing your mobility program in Bilbao or nearby?  

Iya