Learn useful phrases on your gap year
There are several advantages to being able to speak a bit of a country's language on your gap year. You'll look less ignorant, people will be less inclined to rip you off - and it might mean the difference between getting the bus to your hostel and finding yourself at the wrong end of town.
Don't spend ages worrying about how to pronounce things - people will appreciate that you're making an effort to speak the language. Any mistakes you make will probably break the ice. And asking locals for a quick pronunciation lesson is a great way to strike up a conversation and get to know them.
We've put together a few useful phrases for our most popular gap year destinations - just remember to say them with a smile! If you don't think you'll remember the phrases, you can always print out the page and take it with you.
You might think you won't have any problems understanding people in English-speaking countries like America and Australia. And for the most part, you won't - but American and Australian English use a few words that we don't, so we've included some to listen out for.
Get practising these useful phrases and most of all, don't be afraid to try!
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