Your legs are ski-fit, but are your language skills?
Many keen skiers will spend the weeks and even months before the season getting their body up to speed, ready for the snow. They run, squat, stretch and lift, hoping to improve their fitness and stamina. While they may not ski into the first snow drift they meet, they can sometimes fall at the key hurdle of ordering a drink and food at the bar!
“But everyone speaks English” I hear you say. It is certainly true in the hospitality industry that many staff will speak some English. However, the level may be patchy, or you may find that it is fine until you have a specific requirement which is less common. This can be a serious issue if you have food intolerances or need to avoid particular foods for any other reason.
Once you move away from the well-beaten tourist track then you are more likely to come across those who do not speak English. The most memorable experience I have of this is from a skiing holiday in one of the less well-known resorts in Austria. On the first day of our holiday, one of our group fell awkwardly and damaged her leg. She clearly required an ambulance, which was duly summoned. Although she spoke some German, her pain levels meant that she had forgotten most of the niceties – and it turned out that neither of the ambulance crew spoke any English at all! Filling out all the forms on the way to hospital would have been a most interesting experience if we hadn’t sent another German-speaker with her and could have delayed treatment once she reached hospital.
Our suggestion would be to learn the basics of the most common language in your holiday destination. If you are in doubt about your accent then you can write a dozen or so useful phrases on a piece of paper and point to the ones you need. If you have a food allergy or intolerance or other medical issue, then consider getting a translation of the issue and any medication you may require. There are several websites where you can get medical information cards in a variety of languages.
Teri Fleetwood is an experienced language tutor with over 16 years experience of tutoring to the GCSE and A Level curriculum. For more information please look at the rest of the posts in this blog and also check our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LanguageLearnersSurrey/ If you would like to discuss 1:1 or small group tuition, whether for exam preparation or pleasure, then do get in touch! teri@language-learners.com