How important is it to speak foreign languages when we travel?

It is important to, at least, try to open conversations in the language of where you are. It’s just good manners. And if you cannot, at least learn. “Good day. Do you happen to speak English?” in the local language.
I’ve had the most amazing interactions with locals just by asking that in the local lingo.

I don’t subscribe to “I know, I know, everyone speaks English.” That mindset to me feels arrogant.

To answer your question, put in the effort to learn foreign languages especially of the countries you plan to see. Learn the basics.

I had to take a foreign language in school from 7th through 12th grade. I chose French. So whatever language you studied in school & perhaps in college, you’ll have a head start if your travels take you to countries where that language is spoken.

There are online courses like Duolingo that are easily available too.

I think of it as basic politeness. When I go to countries where English is not the 1st language I always spend the 6 months beore on Duolingo learning or refreshing the countries' language where I am traveling. Spanish and Italian are easy for me as I learned Spanish in school and the languages are phonetic. French pronunciation challenges me and I gave up on Hungarian. Thank goodness for Google Translates.

Learning a few basic greetings and thank you goes a long way. But the more the better of course. And something that can be very helpful is to learn "things that tend to appear on signs", like the local words for entrance, exit, railway station, open, closed and so on.

Not really necessary these days when people are using Google translate and other apps. Our favorite landlady ( age 86 ) has her Ipad out to converse with her guests. It is nice when you can do some basic tourist words. Luckily my wife speaks Spanish ( was a teacher ), French, Italian, and Portugese as well as a little German but she counts on me for that. I also can speak Japanese although it has been decades. We will be travelling to France and Italy next year and I am encouraging my son to review his Italian and French for the trip.

One never knows what the future holds. My father, as an engineering student, had to take German in college with the thinking then being that so much engineering was in German. However when he worked with the German rocket engineers after WW2, it was the Germans who had to use English.

I’ve had this discussion many times at gatherings when we get on the topic of travel. Is it better to learn a few words of many languages or concentrate on one to learn. If the latter, which language do you choose if your family is from Great Britain, like mine, no grandparents speaking xxx to me. Living in New York the sensible answer would be Spanish, more opportunity to use it. But Spanish won’t help me in Poland or Austria. My husband speaks 5 languages, but none helped him when we visited Germany.
I have finally learned to speak, read, and write Croatian over the past few years. I could always get by, but i couldn’t read or write, and I still do not consider myself fluent. I know, a long time, but it is a very difficult language and my Memory isn’t what is was. Will this help me in Hungary, nope, nor Sweden.
Now, when we are in Croatia I start to speak and people answer me in English. They know I am not a native speaker and they want to practice their English because they tell me it helps them when they travel to other countries or at their job.
So, when in a Foreign country I always ask first if they speak English, if no, we go down my husband’s list. We usually find one in common.
PS If I really want to practice I talk to the old people on the beach, few of them speak English. My other demographic is under 6 cause they aren’t in school yet learning English.

I'd add to the important words to know: toilet and coffee. In my defense, I just came home from Greece. I wasted two undergraduate semesters on Koine greek. I did NOT inflict my shaky knowledge of biblical greek on any of the wait staff. I'd say that is me acting as a Good Tourist

One advantage of staying on many small inns/b&bs in Germany is that most owners are older and do not speak Emglish. In fact only 1 such place that I have stayed on my last 5 trips speak English

I know, I know... everyone speaks English ( or should, as we
believe..)

We're back from 2 weeks in the Dordogne region in France and were glad for the basic phrases that we had learned and for Google Translate for the menus. Everyone was polite and smiling as we powered through the language barrier. I'd say 3/4's of our waiters spoke no english.

My wife and I were seated at a restaurant in Berlin when the server approached. "Guten Abend," I opened.

Then server immediately launched into rapid German!

After quickly stopping him, he explained it was easier for him if we just started with Engish, then he knew what language to speak!

I think it’s funny that OP says “foreign language” when in fact it’s “local language” when you’re visiting a country other than your own.

”I know, I know... everyone speaks English..” That is rarely the case outside of the tourist cities. Even in Cadiz, Spain, last February when I was asking a few groups of 30-40 year olds some questions about the carnaval event, they would look around and find a teenager to come over and translate to English.

AlanJ, I had a similar experience when I was back in Rome after spending a couple of weeks in Puglia & Sicily. I checked into the small hotel, and the lady knew I was American. She was looking on my reservation paper to see how long I was staying, and when I answered “due notti ” in Italian, she said, “Oh!”…and proceeded to give me the rest of the instructions in Italian. It was a good test of usage of Italian during the trip & my months of daily learning to see what I knew from her detailed information she was sharing - kind of like a jolt of caffeine after my flight from Palermo, catching words & instructions!

I didn’t really begin learning Italian until I was 60 years old. It’s never too late to learn something new!

No, not everyone speaks English. Thank goodness for google translate because both the pharmacist and I were using it in Orvieto last month.

"No, not everyone speaks English." - Margie, you are correct. Have you ever been to South Carolina? Or Newcastle?

why is this in the Student Travel & Study Abroad Forum?

Nigel: because the OP originally tried to link (now removed) to her language school. The OP posted a link to her language school in another thread. That link has also been removed.

Good catch Nigel, I didn’t notice the category.

Thanks Trotter. Now it makes sense.

"It is THEM who understand US. WE do not understand THEM. " "...on a more profound and meaningful level?" How very true. My answer to the topic question is that depends on your travel style and aims regarding the importance.

I see the ability to speak a foreign language as very important or absolutely essential to traveling when I am in France and Germany if I am going to get more out of the trip than an overview. Just knowing a smattering is not good enough. I make it point to talk to locals in the target language so that I don't have to rely on their level of English. In Germany and Austria that's absolutely no problem at all.

In France that's another story since I do indeed have to rely on the local's speaking ability in English, thereby lapsing into English. At my age now, mid-70s I am still trying to add more French to my functioning vocab, even though admittedly that amounts to snippets...I just have to keep at it.

As a freshman in college I was told and advised that I did not have to take any foreign language since I had had 2 years in high school. I went ahead anyway by discounting that piece of advice and started with German.

I know, I know... everyone speaks English

No, not by a long shot.

The European Union does periodic surveys of the language capability of their citizens. The latest one was published this year based on information collected in 2023.

It found that, overall, only 59% of Europeans could speak a 2nd language well enough to carry a conversation (ie., 41% of Europeans can't speak a 2nd language (who would have thunk it?). In addition, only 11% could speak 3 languages in addition to their "mother tongue".

The percent of people who could speak other languages varied, with the highest concentrations being in countries with small language groups. High concentration of multi-language speakers was greatest in small language groups like Dutch, Swedish, and Danish (over 90%) and lowest in large language groups like French (53%) and Italian (44%). Germany led the large language groups with 74% 2nd language users.

Overall, 59% of Europeans had fluency in at least one other language besides their mother tongue, with 47% knowing English.

In 2004, I stayed in a Privatzimmer in a small spa town in the northern Black Forest. The mother at the place I stayed brought me breakfast every morning and we talked. She spoke no English and my German is marginal, but she had raised kids (one of them lived on another floor of the house) and had experience talking to grandchildren. She knew how to talk with someone with limited language ability. She spoke slowly and used simple words, and we had interesting conversation. I asked her at one point if she knew English, and she told me she had studied it in school but never used it since, and couldn't remember anything. That hit home because my daughter had three years of French, all As, and today couldn't construct a sentence in French if her life depended on it.

I love travelling in Germany (I'm of German ancestry). I took two years of German in HS because my advisor said, as someone who was obviously headed for a technical education, I should study German. Well, I never used German in my work as an engineer, but in the eighties I was sent to Europe, including Germany, to study European medical procedures. For the most part, the people from our German office "baby sat" us, so I didn't need to use my German, but I did find opportunities to use my HS German, and that inspired me to come back and study it here.

I now find that I know enough German (barely) to get around, and I find even that enhances my experience greatly. There are too many European languages to become fluent in them all, but if there is one language area that you want to concentrate on, learning their language can be rewarding.

". . . She knew how to talk with someone with limited language ability. She spoke slowly and used simple words, and we had interesting conversation. I asked her at one point if she knew English, and she told me she had studied it in school but never used it since, and couldn't remember anything. . ."

Lee makes two interesting points here. One is that the ability to communicate with someone with limited English skills is in itself a skill. Someone who hasn't studied other languages or traveled with an open mind, may not have that awareness. I've seen many US travelers who assume that a person who understands some English, understands all current American English, with slang, idioms, and cultural references, and speak in rapid complicated sentences that might be questions, or not.

The other is our reverse prejudice in assuming that all people in Europe are more sophisticated, worldly, and better educated than we are. If English is something you had some classes way back in school, and your daily life doesnt depend on knowing it, why would you have permanent fluency? I know plenty of US students who forgot any language skills they might have picked up in school because they didnt have a reason to retain it.

Hi,

If you're thinking about putting in the effort and the time into learning a foreign language for traveling, acquiring a speaking ability in that language, personal/family reasons , learning for fun, or even for no other practical purpose than as an intellectual exercise, regardless if it is Italian, French, German, Russian, Spanish, whatever, then my compliments to you on this undertaking. It makes no difference if you really need it, that's immaterial, but rather it's a matter your desire.

I came to the realisation at 51 that if I were ever to speak French at all, I had better start on a serious concentrated, and systematic effort to acquire it, better than relying on lapsing into English and your interlocutor's level of English. So, I took it up at the community college evening division.

True, this takes effort, time, focus, and discipline to gain a speaking ability. I go after that plus at the same time the ability to write and read as well. Speaking it isn't good enough. True also that learning a foreign language, I mean learning well, is daunting and frustrating but then, so what.

Bottom line: keep at it, pursue it.

I don’t know anyone who assumes everyone else speaks English. I certainly don’t. However, it is easy to find out how widespread English is in other countries. In some countries, almost everyone does speak English; in others it might be just most or some of the people in the hospitality/tourist industry. The fact is that English is a second language for many people around the world, and that makes life easier for English speaking tourists. We are lucky.

It’s wonderful to know the language of the country you are visiting, but it’s not required. It’s very helpful to know key words and phrases of the language, but that’s not required either. Each tourist can decide for themselves how far they want to go, if at all, in learning the language of the country they visit.

I would love to know the language of the countries I visit; it would enrich the experience for sure. However, I don’t have the time to learn a language; I have other priorities in my life right now. That doesn’t mean I won’t have a great trip, and it doesn’t mean I need to apologize.

I believe that knowing even a little English can boost the confidence of travelers, even those who are not very proficient in it. Therefore, I think it's important for us to familiarize ourselves with at least some basic phrases of the language spoken in the country we're visiting, as it is a code of the nation.

I think it’s important to show some basics of language. It’s not necessary to be fluent.

I’ve been working on my Spanish, and by being able to speak Spanish, it has opened doors for us when we travel.

Plus it’s fun to learn another language.

It’s just part of the fun of traveling and expanding one’s capabilities and making an effort.

What is your level of proficiency in Italian, if you don't mind me asking?

How important? Important in what sense?

Important for general European tourism? Not so much.
Important to meet certain expectations from travel? Maybe very, depends on the expectations.

I know, I know... everyone speaks English ( or should, as we
believe..) so we comfort ourselves that we can get by just ok, when we
travel.

And well they should speak English. There are 200 different languages in Europe and there needs to be a common language if they are to be sucessful across the continent. That has nothing to do with tourism, but is convenient to tourism.

But is this enough?

For RS Tour tourism, probably.

The fact that we rely on the assumption that somebody will be able to
speak English to us when we get there deprives us of a certain freedom
and prevents us from exploring the essence of the country we are
visiting.

So without the language you will get no "essence" of a the country? What if i am doing a RS tour with 5 countries in 2 weeks. I should "learn" five languages if I want to go?

The fact someone understands us because they speak English only means
that it is them who have the advantage of the language, not us. It is
THEM who understand US. WE do not understand THEM.

I understand them just fine, if they speak English.

Should we not put more effort into learning foreign languages?

Which ones? Over a million people converse in 150-200 languages

To really feel and experience our destinations on a more profound and
meaningful level?

Nothing meaningful comeing out of travel to Ukraine if you dont speak Ukrainian, so stay home?

Well said, Mr E. You addressed the concerns.
Most of what you need in a foreign land is utilitarian. So a few phrases or words may be fine to learn for those who are intent upon expressing their need to indulge in another language. Many of us are not adept at language learning especially as we are older. And as you stated, the reality of trying to learn a multitude of languages in just Europe is pretty hard. Then if you travel not in Europe, well, that is even more.
The forums are full of people who only repeat trips to the same countries. So it may serve them well to try and learn Italian. But it is only a train ride away from having your Italian fall flat as you move into another country.
All in all, I am thankful I am native English speaker and that there is google translate, which even has voice so you can actually say the words.

treemoss2, but dont get me wrong. I just addressed the comments by the OP. From other perspectives it would be helpful or maybe even essential to speak the language. But just not in the context presented by the OP (IMHO).

One is that the ability to communicate with someone with limited English skills is in itself a skill. Someone who hasn't studied other languages or traveled with an open mind, may not have that awareness. I've seen many US travelers who assume that a person who understands some English, understands all current American English, with slang, idioms, and cultural references, and speak in rapid complicated sentences that might be questions, or not.

I see this every time I go home with my husband. Neither of my parents ever studied foreign languages, nor lived anywhere the population didn't speak English, so they don’t understand that just because my husband can speak some English, he can't understand everything. They don’t make any effort to adapt their language usage because it simply doesn't occur to them that a) it might help and b) he might need any help.

I get that Kim. I have been married to an individual who's second language was English. And I have been in multiple year relationships with two others where English was their second language. 40 years, 3 languages, 3 religions. 3 continents .... challenging but worth every second of it. But when I go to Lisbon, I'm not looking for marriage, just a good dinner and directions.

But, I do envy those who can quickly get deeper into a culture through language. I am an old fart loosing brain cells by the minute. No way I am going to learn Hungarian, Bosnian, Montenegrin and Ukrainian before I am too old to travel. So I do the best I can with what I got.

I maximize what I can despite the language.

"...that we can get by just ok..."

You have to know what you yourself want when traveling. No doubt with the lingua franca as English, you will be able to get by, depending on how you define it.

If you're fine with that, fine, fair enough. It's all up the person. For me, that's not good enough, ie far from it, depending on the country. My interpretation is that one misses out on a great deal if that is a matter of concern to you, above when it deals with reading. If you're after more "profound and meaningful level" of traveling, you do have a few options:

1. pound away, I mean, put real effort and energy into learning a language, especially acquiring the ability to read it,

2. travel with someone who is at a minimum proficient in the targeted languages, or be willing to pay for guide willing to do the talking / interpreting for you.

Since you see yourself as the "linguist" (bravo !) , I can safely assume you are well disposed towards learning languages, be it the 2nd, or 3rd or 4th one.

I thought this quote from Mark Twain was appropriate to this thread and funny.

In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke
to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots
understand their own language.

Mark Twain spent years living in Europe, and I know he spoke some German. Read The Awful German Language by Mark Twain. if you are a student of German, you will probably find it hilarious; others probably won't understand it.

I assume he also spoke some French.