Some people suggest that when we learn a language, we should also learn the cultures and lifestyles of this country. Based on my personal experience, having the opportunity to learn the language and simultaneously the cultures and lifestyles of a specific country it was un essential help in my personal learning process.
As a kid, I had the great opportunity to travel with my parents very often since my mother worked as a flight attendant for an international airways company. It was the first approch I had with foreign countries and different cultures and I cherish those memories very much. I remember how important it was to me as a little kid to associate the meaning of a new word just learnt with something my eyes coould reach, such as buildings or actions. My memory for idioms and my capability of analyzing the world around me became stronger when I had the chance of practising a new language while living with native speakers and getting to learn basic things of their everyday life and traditions.
As the years passed by this belief became even more meaningful since I became more and more passionate about ancient history and politics, not only related to my country, but even of the places I got to visit in the years. When I got older and I decided to move to France, at firts I had a very poor knowledge of the language and for the first months it was a great obstacle of living there. In that case I found extremely helpful to take part in local meetings and activities such as cooking classes or city tours that helped me not only to get to know new people, but most of all my learning process became easier and more interesting.
I truly recommend to everyone who is struggling to approach a new language, not only to focus on grammar and vocabulary, but also to embrace all the things this ideal journey to a new country could give you.