Many people choose to learn a second language by living amongst those who speak it as a native language. But the one thing of most importance is that they are happy in that situation otherwise their language studies will suffer.

Based on this, many people choose to go on language courses in the country of their chosen language for an extended trip. It's often the everyday tasks that we undertake that give rise to the best opportunities to practice speaking a new language, such as going to the shops to buy something, or catching public transport.

If a student was to be given some language study, or left for themselves to work out which areas of the language they should study, they will probably not choose the most difficult and complicated parts - thus stunting their learning. But conversely, if their main focus is simply on getting some sort of task completed (for example - catching public transport or buying something from a store) their main focus is on getting the task done, therefore they will deal with whatever language challenges are put in front of them - and therefore they will learn more, a lot more quickly. If you are going to travel overseas on English courses you might as well learn as much as possible!

Yet another reason is because the language learner is not simply going through a book and reciting what is in front of them. The learner will have to do their best to be understood, and an unrelated conversation may even develop. It's so mcu easier for someone to give up on a tricky challenge when they only have to close the book to get away from the problem. But if it involves giving up and getting off a bus, or leaving a shop frustrated and empty-handed then the student is much more likely to find a way to complete the task - and therefore learn the language. Embarrassment can be an effective deterrent for failure.

Also, to be surrounded continually by other people speaking the language that you are trying to learn has many benefits that are not always so obvious. A lot of information can be absorbed while the learner is busy doing other things, if they happen to be in hearing distance of a conversation occurring in the language that they are learning. This is particularly helpful in terms of identifying intonations and emphasis used in the language.

It's clear that by distracting the mind from focusing on the fact that you are trying to force it to learn, more knowledge is likely to be retained. For example, if the student was to get bored then they will feel more tired and will do anything to avoid the pain of continuing with the boring task. Trying to learn a new language, like the English language for example, should be enjoyable, not a chore.

The ideal solution for this problem is to combine study sessions with other activities that are relaxing, exciting and fun. The double benefit of this is that not only will the student get less bored and retain more knowledge during the learning phase, but they will also have a more enjoyable time overall during their language course. These activities can be organised in order that they offer character building benefits, as well as also placing them in a situation where will be exposed to native speakers of the language, and can be required to converse with them as well.

There are other benefits to be gained from these activities - especially if the student is quite young.For example, it's possible to arrange the activities to ensure that they must get involved in activities that encourage team leading skills and character building exercises. This will also impact upon their language skills in a positive way too, as well as providing valuable experience that will come in handy in the future. They will finish the course feeling like they had a lot of fun as well as studying hard, but they will have picked up a variety of language and communication skills throughout the time spent on the course. Lots of English students will be pleased to hear this - you learn much more when you're having fun!