Is it necessary to go to a city where they speak English?

I'm going to do my Erasmus placement in Italy.

In Italy? They don't speak English there, plus, Italian won't help you in the future. Who speaks Italian outside of Italy? Every employer will require you to speak English, you have to learn English, you have to eat English food, dream in English, live in English...

Okay, fine, I've got it. I know that English is the most important language in the world nowadays. That being said, I will give you some reasons why you should do your Erasmus placement somewhere different, where they don't speak English.

Milan, source

Distance yourself on your CV.

As I have already said, English is crucial. The large majority of job offers will require you to have a good understanding of English. The best information is in English, but there is one thing that they haven't told you.

This demand is making the whole world learn English. If you're going to a job interview; the one on your right speaks English, the one on your left speaks English, so YOU have to speak English. However, don't worry, now I'll tell you how, even though I'm in a country where they don't speak English, you can learn it.

I want you to return to the interview that I was describing, where everyone speaks English. Now get a CV and put on it that you speak English, Italian and Spanish (three languages). Furthermore, the boy has studied at the University of Milan.

I'm giving you a more long-term goal, something that will distinguish you from the crowd. English is going to have to be learned by everyone, so we are going to do it if we are responsible enough and we have common sense. It is necessary, and nobody is going to argue with that, so we are learning it. However, tell me - who is going to study Italian when they are 30 years old and nobody is calling them for a job interview? Not many people, surely.

Nowadays, in order to work, they will ask you for a first and second obligatory language (Spanish and English usually). If you are part of those people who have a third language, you will be playing in a better position on the field.

I will give you another reason if my arguments have not been good enough for you yet.

University of Milan, source

You will always have the opportunity to learn English, anywhere.

You're going to Italy? You can speak English. Germany? English. France? English. You are going on your Erasmus placement: you are always going to find people from every part of the world, you can practise whatever language you want to.

In my case, I am in Milan, Italy. From day one I made the decision that I wanted to go to Italy because it was something that my instinct told me to do. It was something that, if I didn't do it now, I would never do it, and it has been the best decision of my life.

But... the English? Well, for those who think I am crazy - I am learning English! My best friends are Portuguese and German, so between us we always speak English. On the other hand, I also have Italian friends, I do the shopping in Italian, I ask questions on the street in Italian, so I am learning two languages at the same time.

Unfortunately, my stay is only for 6 months. It's not going to be enough to learn these two languages fluently, but enough to want to perfect them in the future.

source

Motivation

On learning a simple, but complete language (like Italian), you will realise that you can learn any language that you want. You will start off by not knowing how to say hello, you won't understand anything of what anyone says, but at the end of 6 months you will see that what you thought was impossible at the start is actually something that you do everyday now without any problem.

Your perspective of languages will change. In the past I have said "I'm not good at languages", "I haven't tried enough in languages". At the same time, I have learnt various techniques of how I personally learn a new language the fastest, which I can use for future languages.

I am one of the crazy ones that decided to do their Erasmus in Italy... Within a couple of years I will speak 3 languages (give me a little more time for the 4th! ). What about you?

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