An English pub landlord was given a 32-week suspended jail sentence last week, and was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £250 costs. He was found guilty of brandishing an air rifle behind the bar after customers got annoyed when he told them to order their drinks in English. The location of the pub? Gwynedd, Wales.
At la Academia, based as we are in Cheadle, Cheshire, next to South Manchester, Welsh is not one of the languages we offer, or hear very often. However, if we were thinking of upping sticks and moving to Wales – or France, Germany, Italy, China, Spain, South America or any country that does not have English as its first language – we would be doing some lessons in German, French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish or Welsh as appropriate in plenty of time before setting off.
Living or working in a foreign country can be very disorientating, and not being able to speak the language makes feelings of isolation even worse. If you have difficulty in communicating with colleagues, have few friends, are unable to socialise easily, and are not confident to travel around, your stay will be much less enjoyable.
Even a short holiday can be much more fun if you know a few words of the local language, or better still can hold your own in French, Spanish, German, Italian or Chinese, and have a proper conversation with the locals. A pity the pub landlord had packed an air rifle instead of a dictionary. He would have had much more fun if he’d made an effort.
Don’t make the same mistake as him! If you’d like to get the most out of your next holiday or business trip abroad, why not take some lessons here in Manchester before you leave? As well as our core language classes in French, Spanish, German, Italian and Chinese, we can offer many other languages on a one-to-one basis.
Just call us for details!