4 Embarrassing Things Americans Do Abroad To Avoid Speaking Foreign Languages
HuffPost
The solution isn’t fluency, but effort.
On my first solo trip to Spain as a college student, I confidently boarded a bus in Madrid to buy a ticket. I mispronounced my words and asked for a napkin instead of a ticket. Flustered by the driver’s confusion, I tried to say I was embarrassed but ended up announcing I was pregnant. After several failed attempts, the bus driver and nearby passengers burst into laughter.
Despite my mistakes, at least I tried, something many people don’t.
A recent Preply survey revealed that while 80% of Americans believe learning basic phrases before traveling is important, only 58% actually make the effort to do so. This gap helps explain the awkward workarounds that travelers often resort to abroad.
We spoke with experts to reveal the worst things you can do when you’re in an unfamiliar language territory.
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