It's vacation time for me this week!
How about you?
If you are getting ready to take a vacation from work, don't take a vacation from your English-learning routine also!
You can find new ways to practice while you are getting away from your day job.
In today's post, I will give you a few suggestions and strategies.
#1) Find an international meetup
You know that you are going to get bored of your friends or family while you are on vacation! And if you are vacationing in an international city like Tokyo, New York, Berlin, or London, you can get away from your group and spend a night speaking English with an international crowd. Try the following groups;
- Couchsurfers: They host evening gatherings for members who are located in the host country or who are passing through. Find out where they are meeting and join them! English will probably be the common language regardless of where the meeting is.
- Meetup: Meetups are really catching on all over the world! Join one if you are in a large city. You might even find one that focuses on practicing English.
- Internations: Find out if the local Internations chapter is having an event and join them! They will probably be speaking in English and you will have a chance to meet people from all over the world.
#2) Couchsurf
Couchsurfing is not just for parties and get-togethers! Instead of staying in a boring hotel, you can stay in a local person's home and learn a lot about the city that you are visiting.
If you are young, adventurous, and love to meet new people, you can open an account on Couchsurfing and find a local host in the city where you are traveling. More than likely, the common language between you and your host will be English so you will have a chance to learn about the country that you are visiting, practice your English, and make a new friend. Best of all, couchsurfing is free and quite safe!
#3) Take your podcasts to the beach
Are you planning to spend some serious time on the beach during your break? Well, you can make use of your time sitting on the beach by listening to the news, podcasts, and live shows in English. Just be careful- don't get sand in your Smartphone!
Here are some ideas:
- NPR: News, commentary, international, and local events, a variety of voices and accents- excellent for upper intermediate and advanced students
- Culip's ESL Podcast: This podcast comes from Canada, lots of good, natural, fun conversations to learn from
- Business English Pod: Brush up on your business English vocabulary while you are out of the office with this podcast
#4) Read a book
There is nothing better than reading a good book on the beach- or while camping, or even while visiting a new city. Reading is an important piece of your English-learning plan so hit the library before you take off for vacation. Here are a few good ones:
- The Tipping Point (for advanced students who are interested in sociology)
- Tuesday's with Morrie (a nice story that anyone can relate to)
- Harry Potter
- Anything that interests you and keeps you engaged!
So remember, a vacation from work is not a vacation from English! If you really want to improve, you should make English a huge part of your life and vacation is a great opportunity to do that. Learn how to talk about your vacation in English here.
Have fun and enjoy your vacation!
Photo credits: NeilsPhotography, Sergio Gongalves Chicago, pixietart, raissa viza, Maldita la hora
