Do you need to learn the language in the countries you plan to visit?

Question

HI guys! I'm curious. If I were to travel to Russia, not with a group of tourist, would it be necessary for me to learn how to speak Russian. My friend has traveled to many foreign country and she told me English is all you need to travel the world and there is no need to learn French when traveling France or Italian when traveling Italy.

What do you guys think? Have you ever traveled a foreign country and wished you knew how to speak the language?

Thank you very much for your time!

:)

Answer 1

It does help, if only a smattering.

Answer 2

of course you will want to speak the language , but it is a long and difficult process of learning a language,   and english really is a universal language every one in developed countries speak it, and alot of developing countries have many english speakers too, it is really unneccesssary to learn the whole language just to visit a country,   learn a few phrases or bring a basic russian or basic spanish or basic french book for where ever your going, good luck

Answer 3

Yes.Don't lay only on English.Not everywhere and everyone knows english.Knowing some basic phrases of the countries language you are about to visit is essential.

I'm not saying to learn the whole and master the language but instead to learn the basics of that language.Besides learning a new language is fun!

:-)

Answer 4

It's good to know some phrases or idioms, because you can't be sure in what situation you can go through. Not everybody speaks english though.

Answer 5

maybe you need some basic and look on the bright side what you have to loose learning new language.

Answer 6

No luckily most of the Planet knows English, but if you visits someplace in the country they may not speak english

Answer 7

I don't think you NEED to know the language...English really is a universal language by now, and you will definitely be able to get by. However, knowing a language [at least enough to say hello, please, thank you, etc etc] makes the trip so much more enjoyable...plus, it makes the natives happy to see a foreigner being enthusiastic. =D

When I went to South Africa [my mom's family lives there] the people were overjoyed to see that I knew at least a few somewhat amusing words of Zulu, made even more hilarious by my harsh American accent. I definitely think you should at least pick up one of those small, cheap pocket books with handy phrases. =)  

Answer 8

If you travel alone, its good you know some basic phrase and words. In addition to that, maybe its good to learn some emergency phrase such as I need to go to hospital, pain, police, help me,where is the bathroom etc.  

Answer 9

You don't have to learn the language, but knowing even a few words will make a big difference in your visit.  Knowing how to say things like please, thank you, hello, numbers, and other basics will make a good impression on the locals and they will be more likely to help you out.  As long as you're in the major cities in Russia, you should be able to get by with English.  In St. Petersburg, most of the restaurants in the tourist areas have English menus available if you ask for them.  The same is true with all of the big tourist attractions.  If you want to go to the countryside or to more obscure places, it wouldn't hurt to learn some Russian or find a tour guide for the day.

If you're going to countries in Western Europe (France, Italy, etc), it will be even easier to get by with English only as nearly everyone there speaks at least a little English and the alphabet is the same.