When I say move out of your comfort zone, I literally mean move. Get up out of your chair, hop on a bus, hop in your car or put on you walking shoes and just go.

‘Where to?’ you may ask. Where people are speaking the language you are learning, and that doesn’t count your classroom!

Now this may sound strange if the whole reason you are learning a language is to travel to the country of origin.  But have you considered there may be people using that particular language in the town or city where you live?

For example, if you are learning Vietnamese because you plan to travel to Vietnam one day soon, see if you can find a Vietnamese restaurant or supermarket and go there frequently. 

Take what you have learnt in class and try and put it into use by ordering something to eat or even exchanging a simple greeting. It may feel awkward at first but you will be amazed how people will open up and help you when they see you are making an effort to speak their language. You may even find a new friend.

It’s a win-win for everyone!

I know I am giving away my age here but I’m going to just say it – I grew up to the tunes of Abba.

For those of you who are too young to know…Abba was a pop band from Sweden who sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

They sang in perfect English but when it came to interviews, well, they were less than fluent. Now, I’m not judging them here as my Swedish is non-existent but I remember that at the time it shocked me. How could they sing fluently and speak, well, not so fluently?

This thought came back to me the other day when my daughter sang the traditional Japanese frog song Kaeru No Uta fluently. I would just like to add here that my daughter learnt this song at primary school and knows no other Japanese.

What a wonderful learning tool singing can be!  The only problem with it being your only tool is that I don’t think you could actually sing your whole way around a country or through a job interview. Still, you may be able to impress your friends or serenade your love one!