It’s that holiday time of year. Not for going on one perhaps, but certainly for booking one. More Britons than ever holidayed abroad in the 12 months to late July 2019, according to ABTA’s latest Holiday Habits Report. More than six in ten Brits (64%) took a foreign holiday in the 12 months to July 2019, up from 60% the previous year, and the highest figure since 2011.
The Boozy Brit Abroad
Mainland Spain, the Canaries, the Balearics, Greece and Turkey are the nation’s favourite overseas destinations. Given our love of foreign holidays, you would think that we would all be happy to learn a language to help us get the most from our time away. Sadly, a British Council poll of 1,960 UK adults revealed that poor language skills are still holding us back. In fact, according to the poll, it seems that the image of the boozy Brit abroad is alive and real. More than one in four UK adults say they learnt only how to ask for two beers.
Thankfully, 69% also learnt to say ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’, while 28% learnt ‘How much does it cost?’ Less positively, 28% only learnt ‘Do you speak English?’ And 36% reported feeling guilty for needing to ask this. Who wants to feel guilty on holiday?
Perhaps the most depressing statistic is that 42% confessed to having spoken English slowly and loudly to try to make themselves understood. That’s never going to work.
Make this the year that you stop being a ‘Brit abroad’. Join one of our friendly language classes and make your holiday much more rewarding in 2020.