There is no doubt that going abroad is one of the best ways to learn a language, but it’s not always so easy to get such an opportunity… especially because of money.
However, what many people don’t know, is that there are a lot budget-friendly ways to spend a few weeks abroad —or even a whole year!
On this post, I am going to give you some examples of this kind of opportunities. Many of them are scholarships, but some others are work or volunteering placements that are very easy to get.
Working abroad
On the following websites, you can easily apply for a job abroad. Not all of these opportunities will provide you with a salary, but at least you will have free accommodation and meals. Many people especially use Workaway and WWOOF to go on a holiday in a more original way, travelling and getting to practise the language with the locals. I know some people who have tried them and they were quite happy!
- Workaway – https://www.workaway.info/
On this website you can find a wide range of different work opportunities in practically every country in the world! Generally, these jobs are offered by families who need some help with their house, farm or any kind of business, like hostels or schools. Not all the hosts offer payment, but they provide with free accommodation and generally food too. This is a great opportunity to live with the locals and experience their customs and life style.
- AuPairWorld – https://www.aupairworld.com
Working as an Au pair is one of the most popular ways to go abroad, but you need to like children J With an Au pair contract, you will stay with a host family and help them taking care of the children while the parents are at work. Sometimes, you will also need to help a little bit with light house chores. All families provide with free accommodation and, depending on the country, with free meals and a small salary or money pocket. Some of them are also required to help financing the travel expenses and a language course.
I have a couple of friends who worked as Au pairs in France and Switzerland and they learnt a lot of French!
- WWOOF – World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – https://wwoof.net/
This websites offers a wide range of opportunities to work on organic farms around the entire globe. The hosts offer free accommodation and also food in most of the cases, but they never provide with pocket money. Usually there are more volunteers living in the same farm. If you are interested in organic farming and gardening, you will definitely enjoy this experience. Indeed, it’s a great to opportunity to stay with the locals and practise the language!
- British Council – Teaching Assistant Programme – https://www.britishcouncil.org/study-work-abroad/outside-uk/english-language-assistants
If you like teaching, this would be a great opportunity for you!
With this programme, you can work as a teaching assistant in any of the following countries: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland.
You will be getting a salary and, depending on your destination, you will also get some help finding an accommodation.
To work as a teaching assistant, you don’t need any previous experience as a teacher. You will be assigned to a primary school, secondary school or school of languages and you will be in charge of organising fun activities to learn English with special emphasis on communication, and also special lessons and presentations to show your culture to the students.
On the British Council’s website, you can get more information and check the eligibility requirements.
In Spain, we have the same programme offered by the Ministry of Education and I participated two years ago. I worked for seven months in a high school in Montpellier (France) and I really enjoyed it. It was one of the best experiences of my life! That is the reason why, when I saw that my home university in Spain was offering a similar opportunity to work in a foreign university, I didn’t think twice x)
VOLUNTEERING ABROAD
There are many websites where you can find opportunities to work abroad as a volunteer but, generally, you will need to pay some fees. It may sound a bit weird that you need to pay to work, but most of the communities which offer this kind of placements are very poor, and that is why they need some money to provide the volunteers with full accommodation.
Here you have some examples of websites which offer these kind of opportunities:
- GVI – https://www.gvi.co.uk/
This website in particular offers internships on different fields such as marine conservation, business, teaching and women’s empowerment. The duration of the projects varies from 2 weeks to 6 months.
- Projects Abroad – https://www.projects-abroad.co.uk
Like the previous one, this website offers many options to work as a volunteer on different fields like human rights, journalism and social work. You will need to pay some fees but, in exchange, you will receive full accommodation, food, travel insurance, airport pick-up and drop-out and other services.
- International Volunteer HQ – https://www.volunteerhq.org (with fees)
Again, this website is similar to GVI and Projects Abroad, but it has more affordable fees and interesting projects related to music, arts and sports.
STUDYING ABROAD
Many countries offer scholarships to foreign students to study a master or a PHD. Here you can find some examples:
- Scholarships to study in Switzerland
- Scholarships to study and work in Japan
https://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/study.html
- Opportunities to study and work in China
https://www.britishcouncil.org/study-work-abroad-china
- Scholarships to study in Holland
https://www.studyinholland.nl/finances/scholarships/find-a-scholarship
- Erasmus?
Because of Brexit, the future of Erasmus is quite uncertain… Hopefully, this programme of scholarships will survive somehow because it’s so far the easiest way to study abroad with enough funding to cover with all your expenses. You can find more information about the Erasmus options offered by the University of Bath here: https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/studying-abroad-as-part-of-your-undergraduate-degree/
Also you can check the last updates on Erasmus on the following website:
https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/brexit-update
TRAVELLING!
Lastly, I would like to recommend you two ways to travel in a more affordable way while getting to know the locals.
- CoachSurfing https://www.couchsurfing.com/users/sign_in#
If you haven’t heard of CoachSurfing yet, this is a kind of social networking service where you can stay at some people’s houses for free…if in exchange you also welcome other travellers home. It sounds a bit dangerous to stay in some strangers’ house (and inviting them home), but it can be interesting if you make sure everything is safe, and you will have a great time talking to the locals.
- Bla Bla Car https://www.blablacar.com/
Travelling in Bla Bla Caris also a great way to save some money and talk with native people from the country where you are travelling. This service is available in several countries.The drivers are generally locals who need to commute every day, and they are more than happy to talk so the trip is not that boring.
My final advice is: don’t be afraid to go abroad and don’t take for granted that is something very complicated or expensive. If you want to learn a language in particular, you also can look for volunteering/work opportunities and scholarships to study at the country which interests you.
I hope you found this information useful! If you know any other interesting opportunities, please share in the comments! 😀
Tips for Learning Languages 