How To Deal with Language Barrier Anxiety
Am I going to starve to death in the middle of a major city with a pocket full of cash?
This is what I said to myself on a few occasions in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2018.
I didn’t speak Russian or Ukrainian, and nobody spoke English. Eventually, I was able to use Russian to get by.
If you’ve never traveled to a foreign country, understand that the language barrier is usually not this drastic.
English is the Dominate Language in the World
If you speak English, you’re in luck. English is the most useful language in the world. After the local language, if people know any other language than their own, it’s often English.
This has good consequences for English speakers.
On Airplanes
I’ve probably been on 50 flights within Europe. On every flight, no matter what airline, where I’m departing or landing…
The cabin announcements are always repeated in English after the local carrier language.
For example, I flew from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Dubai, U.A.E., on Azerbaijan Airlines.
After the announcements in Azerbaijani, the announcements were repeated in English.
This happens on every flight all over the world.
ATMs in Foreign Countries
There’s nothing more frightening than sliding your ATM card into an Atm 8000 miles away from home. I had probably been to 5 countries before I got the courage to do it.
Don’t fear; you are perfectly safe to use your ATM card overseas*
*Remember: As mentioned in Solo Travel for Men – 10 Tips, tip #9 was that you can use your credit card all over the world.
But here’s the neat thing. When you start your transaction, you will always have the option to switch the language to English.
Note: The button often has a United Kingdom Flag.
No matter where you are in the world, press it, and everything will be in English.
This also applies to any other kiosk you use.
Whether you’re getting a bus ticket, paying for fast food, or parking meters, the machine will always have an English option.
Hotel Staff Speak English
When you check in to a regular hotel overseas, the front desk will always speak English.
It feels like hotels require the ability to speak English, but I can’t confirm that. In fact, don’t be surprised if the front desk person can actually speak multiple languages.
As an English speaker, it’s hard to appreciate this. Imagine if you speak Mandarin or Russian, the chances the hotel staff in Mexico knows your language is small.
Do Most Foreigners Speak English?
Not really.
I’ve been told my whole life that young people in foreign countries speak English. In my experience, this is not really the case.
Yes, people under 40 in foreign countries are often taught English in school, but that doesn’t mean they know it.
I’ve found it similar to how American high school kids must take a foreign language. You might have taken Spanish in high school, but if a Spanish speaker stopped you on the street to ask for help, you would say you don’t speak Spanish.
And yes, even though the world has access to the internet and YouTube, English levels are relatively low.
That’s how it was for me in Russia, Hungary, Poland, and even to some extent, Sweden.
Yes, even Sweden! Sweden is a first-world Western Country, but you will be surprised that only about half of the people are fluent in English.
Note: most people know a bit of English, but they are not comfortable with their level, so they just say they don’t speak English.
Beautiful Foreign Girls
Of course, beautiful foreign girls would be a benefit from knowing English. But I’ve noticed that very attractive girls usually have the worst English levels.
Unless they deal with English speakers for work or some other reason, most attractive girls don’t go through the effort to learn English.
The theory here is that attractive girls don’t need to learn English. Why would they? They have everything they want in their language.
This is one of the misnomers about foreign travel. The theory is that all girl want to escape their country and come to the U.S.
Not so. An attractive Czech Republic girl has everything she wants in Prague, why would she leave?
Sure, some want to leave, but nowhere near what the stereotype is.
Which Countries Speak English?
I’ve been to about 17 countries off the top of my head. On a report card grading scale, here is my opinion of English levels in a few countries.
As, and Bs, you can speak English everywhere with no problem.
Cs, hit or miss.
Ds and Fs, you will struggle if you only know Engish.
Russia – F
Ukraine – F
Croatia – B
Czech Republic – B
Dubai – B
Azerbaijan – C
Hungary – B
Estonia – B
Poland – B
Sweden – B
Spain – D
London – A
Rome – A
Canada – A
Switzerland – A
Paris – C
Summary
Not knowing the language should never stop you from traveling. The essentials of transportation, accommodations, and money will always have English options.
Also, you’ll always be able to find somebody who speaks a bit of English to help you if necessary.
Just don’t think you’re going to land in a place like Tallinn, Estonia, and all the people under 30 will speak English.
P.S. Install and get familiar with the Google Translate App. It is very useful.
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