Why Not Speak Their Language When You Travel Abroad?

When you go to Europe, dont be shy: Try speaking the language of your destination. It can be fun!

Preparing for my first German book tour, I took an on-line grammar test from a language school. Big mistake. I was never good at test-taking and I bombed, despite having studied some basic German for more than a year. I told this to a friend who teaches German and he said, Forgot it. Nobodys going to test you over there. The key thing is, can you communicate? If you make mistakes, so what? Dont let yourself be paralyzed by grammar. Itll stop you having fun.

That was terrific advice.

Despite the jet lag, I plunged in as soon as I got off the plane in Berlin and hailed a cab. I knew I was making mistakes, but the cab driver took me to the main train station anyway. We chatted about the weather and understood each other pretty well, though I found myself tongue-tied more than once. She helped me along, and whenever I couldnt follow, asking her Wie Bitte? (Excuse me?) was always effective, giving me time to process what we were talking about a little further. And time to relax.

At the train station, I managed to buy my ticket to the next city without fuss. But when I found a stand to buy a sandwich and some water, I asked for non-sparkling water incorrectly: Haben Sie stille Mineralwasser?

All German nouns are either feminine, masculine, or neuter, and adjectives reflect that. I should have said stilles Mineralwasser, since Wasser is neuter, not feminine.

But you know what? The clerk answered in German that of course they had it, what size did I want, and I bought the bottle with no problem. Its only when I walked away that I realized my mistake. This was a good, practical lesson and proved my friend the German teacher was right.

On the rest of my trip, whether talking to waiters, cab drivers, ticket agents, new acquaintances, and even some old ones, Im sure I made mistakes. But I never had trouble getting my point across.

And the more I spoke with people, the less self-conscious I got, the better my accent was, and the more I found myself picking up new words and expressions. People appreciated my speaking to them in their own language. That much was clear from their attitudeand sometimes they came right out and said it.

A friend whos lived in Germany confessed that even now he still sometimes makes mistakes in his German. But they love that anyone makes the effort, he says. The important thing is to try. When you do, your access to that countrys people and culture is completely different. But remember, its not a test or even a quiz. Enjoy yourself!

Lev Raphael is the author of 25 books including the memoir/travelogue My Germany .