Does it surprise you to know that only around a third of British people speak a second language? This, combined with the fact that a third of Brits actually grow up in bilingual households, should give you an idea of how good native English speakers are at learning languages.

Most British students do learn a language at school, but they start late (typically at age 11) and stop quickly (only half of students take a language GCSE at 16). I started French classes in primary school, but a couple of hours a week learning words I didn’t practise at any other time didn’t have much impact. At secondary school, I studied German, and though I got an A* at GCSE, I could never confidently communicate, and I forgot the language almost immediately.

As an adult, I’ve spent extended periods of time in Italy, Madagascar, and Hong Kong, but my Italian, Malagasy and Cantonese are all at very different levels. In fact, the language I spent the longest in contact with (Cantonese), is the one I know the least. I lived in Hong Kong for eight years, but I can just about direct a taxi, order food, and count small numbers of things. Although I only spent eight months in Madagascar, I learned more of that language than I have of any other. The reason for this is that in Hong Kong, I was surrounded by English, while in Madagascar, the local language was my only option.

Immersive language learning is a great way to get out of your comfort zone. In Hong Kong, I could always find someone to help me in English, so I had no incentive to learn the tones and characters needed to communicate. However, in Madagascar, I quickly bought a dictionary and carried it along on every shopping trip. Taking half an hour to point and check words with shopkeepers wasn’t fun at all, so I was pushed to learn words, then sentences, then enough language to have a meaningful conversation.

A few years after my time in Madagascar, I took a sabbatical in Italy. I’d done a tour of the big cities while at university, and the tourist trail had barely given me any opportunity to practise the few words of Italian I knew. However, on my sabbatical, I would be staying in tiny villages, where locals were unlikely to speak English fluently. My experience with immersive language learning in Madagascar gave me a confidence my school experience never had. I studied before my Italian adventure, and I made the effort to speak with my kind, elderly neighbour there every single day. Though she didn’t know a word of English, we were able to chat a little, and I was eager to keep learning in order to communicate with her.

In my experiences with immersive learning, I not only improved my language skills, but also my enthusiasm. Practising words from a book, even when there were exam grades on the line, wasn’t nearly as effective as the authentic experience of immersive learning.

Each summer, i-Learner students can take part in immersive study experiences in the UK, either in an Oxford college or a traditional British boarding school. Details on the courses and applications are here.