Photo: luisvilla / Flickr

Some people have dreamt of traveling their entire lives but they have yet to step into a plane. Others, like Timothy Ferriss, travel constantly in order to learn. As he says in his book: ‘To live is to learn. I see no other option. This is why I’ve felt compelled to quit or be fired from jobs within the first six months or so.’ He explains that the reason for this is that the learning curve flattens out which leads to boredom.

The advantages of learning abroad

Ferriss explains that travel allows for unique conditions that facilitates faster progress than learning at home. ‘The different surroundings act as a counterpoint and mirror for your own prejudices, making weaknesses much easier to fix.’ He says that he seldom goes anywhere without first deciding what new skill he wants to learn.

The intrepid traveller tends to focus on learning a language together with a new kinesthetic skill. He tends to transport his domestic skills (martial arts, for example) and he’s always met with an instant social life. One doesn’t have to take on a competitive sport, it can be anything ‘as long as it keeps your nose out of a textbook and you out of your apartment.’

Ferriss learned the following skills in Ireland: Irish flute, Gaelic Irish and hurling. He studied Brazilian Portuguese and jujitsu in Rio. Germany had him learning the local language and locking, which he describes as upright break-dancing.

A new language is a new lens

‘Language learning deserves special mention. It is, bar none, the best thing you can do to hone clear thinking,’ writes Ferriss. He adds that ‘quite aside from the fact that it is impossible to understand a culture without understanding its language, acquiring a new language makes you aware of your own language: your own thoughts.’

Ferriss boldly disagrees with theoretical linguists because he knows from personal experimentation and research that adults can learn languages faster than kids. This requires getting out of the nine to five work scenario, however.

He also believes that it’s entirely possible to become conversationally fluent in a new language in six months. Three, if it’s practiced for four hours a day.

Tags: language, travelling