1 In 3 Americans Share This Specific Fear That Keeps Them From Traveling The World
Don't let this fear keep you from a bucket list destination!
Zolotarevs | Shutterstock Travel is known for being one of the most enriching activities out there, and trips to far-off places are atop nearly everyone's bucket lists. Nevertheless we Americans are pretty notorious for not traveling much, at least compared to the rest of the world. A new study explores one of the main reasons why, and it all comes down to plain English.
1 in 3 Americans don't travel internationally due to language anxiety.
Among the reasons often cited for why Americans travel so much less than the rest of the world is because of our comparatively paltry vacation time. It's hardly worth the trouble to jet off to Europe when you lose a day on the plane, then lose another to jet lag. When you only get 10 days off a year, is it any wonder only half of us have even bothered getting a passport?
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But according to a survey by language app Preply, there's another huge reason Americans don't tend to go abroad: language barriers. Preply asked more than 1,500 people over the age of 18 about their travel habits, and a pattern quickly emerged. If Americans can't speak English in the destination, they ain't goin'!
Or at least that was the case for one-third of respondents, and only 1 in 4 of those who do travel internationally said they actually take the time to try to learn some language skills before getting to their destination. Long story short, having to deal with another language makes Americans really anxious.
Asian countries make Americans most anxious, but European countries do too.
On the list of the countries that make Americans most language-anxious, China topped the list with 37% of respondents, followed by Japan and South Korea at 34% and 23%, respectively. Which makes sense. When you don't even know the alphabet, let alone the language, it can feel a touch overwhelming.
But fourth place was a Thai — er, tie — between Thailand and, surprisingly, France. Which is weird since France has the same ol' alphabet as America. But it seems Americans' perceptions of the French as kind of mean to non-French speakers made the country rise higher on the list. (As someone who does speak French and has spent a lot of time in Paris, I can tell you that this is not exactly untrue, even if you do speak the language!)
But couldn't this all be assuaged by simply learning a bit of the language before your trip? Yes, absolutely, and between that and how ubiquitous English has become as a second language worldwide, it's pretty hard to find yourself in situations where you can't communicate at all unless you're in rural areas.
But Preply's study found that Americans are just as anxious about language learning as they are about foreign travel. Many cited negative experiences in school as turning them off the process, while others said they find it too difficult (37%), time-consuming (32%), or too likely to offend the locals with poor language usage (31%).
American travelers tend to make up for language deficiencies in other ways.
Yolanda Del Peso Ramos, language expert at Preply, said that there's a "noticeable gap" between American travelers' intentions and their actual actions when it comes to language prep before a trip. "Many Americans genuinely want richer, more confident travel experiences, but fear, embarrassment, and outdated assumptions often hold them back.”
Instead, they often resort to, well, resorts where they know English will be spoken (17%), or relying on friends or local acquaintances to handle all the speaking for them (26%), or leaning on translation apps (26%).
But nearly as many resort to things like eating McDonald's so that they don't have to deal with a foreign menu (17%), which is precisely the kind of thing that makes you miss out on part of the experience of traveling.
Far better, according to both Del Peso Ramos and 49% of respondents, is taking just a little bit of time to learn the most basic of phrases for things like ordering food, checking into hotels, and handling emergencies, which makes a trip exponentially better. Many said it often leads to pleasant interactions with locals, too.
With nearly half of Americans saying they would travel internationally more if they spoke another language, it's clear that many of us are missing out on something we really want to do because of this anxiety. It's understandable, but not nearly as big a deal as we make it out to be. The world is too big and life is too short to be held back like this. Learn a few phrases, then get out there and explore!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
