There’s no greater way to build student’s language skills than to travel to where it all began. Students can expand their vocabulary, improve their accents and build confidence as they attend intensive classes and converse with the natives in everyday situations that challenging them to put the theory of their studies into practice.

By immersing your students in the natural environment of the language they’re learning, they can learn through real-world experiences and build an authentic intercultural understanding. A language tour is the ultimate way to help your students to fast-track learning a new language.

Linguistics and culture are inextricably intertwined and foreign language studies can also a provide lessons in history, cuisines, social norms and much more, especially when students take part in a language tour.

Students see firsthand how culture impacts social norms and the different ways people communicate with one another. This enhances students’ intercultural understanding and social intelligence as they learn to extract non-explicit information from their environment, such as meaningful gestures. In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world, these skills are important to develop.

When students interact with the locals and test their conversational skills, language acquisition occurs naturally and is highly rewarding. In addition, the challenge of understanding and navigating foreign environments aids written language comprehension. Learning a new language strengthens the brains executive function, which improves capabilities such as memory, multitasking, perception and intercultural understanding.

WorldStrides offers language tours in some of the most culturally rich destinations in the world, for students studying Italian, Indonesian, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Here’s a snapshot of our language tours across the glove:

• In Italy, students can bring their language studies to life against the backdrop of iconic landmarks and remnants of an ancient civilisation.
• In Germany, students will be immersed in the German culture through a home-stay experience and intensive language lessons.
• In France, students will attend language classes in Paris or Montpellier and be inspired by famous museum and attractions across the country.
• New Caledonia offers French students a unique experience with lessons at the historic Creipac French Language schools, in a tropical island setting.
• Students of Indonesian language studies can visit the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali or visit Malaysia, where they will partake in intensive language lessons and cultural activities.
• In Tokyo, Japanese students come face to face with endless exciting opportunities to boost their confidence, language skills and understanding of Japanese culture and history.
• In China, students will interact with locals and visit schools as they put their studies into practice and uncover an ancient history.

Learn more about the benefits of second language acquisition here.