IF you come from Madrid, you may want to learn another dialect in Spain so you can travel to other areas and converge with the locals. For example, if you want to travel to the Andalucian region, you may want to know their local dialect there so you can be given fresh yummy fish where you can grill later on in your vacation home garnished with olive oil. Among the top dialects in Spain are Catalan and Basque. So if you are armed with these languages, you can easily go to Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife and Las Palmas. The latter two is already located in Africa. But if you really want to explore the rest of the Spanish-speaking population in the world, then go to the Americas from as affluent as Florida to as cold as Chile bordering on Antarctica.

Back home, there are already lots of tourists in Spain so it wouldn’t hurt learning another European language either. There are vast numbers of British tourists here every year and so learning British English is really an advantage if you want to take a shot in investing or working in the local hospitality industry here in Spain. Take note that British English is peculiarly different from American English because it distinctly lacks the r sound. That is what is called as the non-rhotic accent. The non-rhotic accent can be traced back to the 15th century when certain words in English such as barse are changed to bass. A similar form of non-rhotic accent is practiced Down South in Australasia which comprises the countries of Australia and New Zealand as well as the New England states in upper United States.

Meanwhile, American English is practiced in the United States and half of Canada. The other half of Canada by the way speak French. Speaking of French, it is a language which is entirely European in origin and it even came from a place just in the border with Spain – France. But if your trip is to go all the way across the Atlantic this Christmas season, then go to Quebec or any other city in Montreal so you can learn French. You may want to explore the tourist spots in Montreal such as the Old Montreal, Plateau Mont Royal, Basilique Notre Dame and Christ Church Cathedral. Or you may want to visit the towering Olympic Stadium. Built for the 1976 Olympics, it is the world’s tallest leaning structure.

Meanwhile, the European Union has consistently urged all its citizens to learn another language. This is to uncreate the Babel-like world that has persisted Europe nowadays. Europe is the smallest continent in the world and a contiguous one at that yet each country speaks a different language. But languages in Spain originate from two languages though – Germanic and Frankish. These two languages were merged together by the conquering Romans and spread as different languages such as modern-day German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Scottish, Irish and English.

You can see all these countries, experiencing their languages and rich cultures, by investing in Europe trains passes. They offer the traveller flexibility and so he/she can really make the most of their time abroad without haven’t to worry about journey restrictions (nor extra costs!)

ONE can surely get rich just by teaching a second language. Imagine yourself being a Briton and you venture out to Thailand to teach English there as a second language. Most of the students there are those applying for work in beach resorts in Phuket and they want to learn English because lots of tourists there speak English. It is also a requirement of the Thai tourism ministry that the tourism workers in Thailand must know how to speak English.

Thus, English language programs are proliferating in that country. These language schools are subsidized not just by the government but international benefactor agencies such as the Canada International Development Agency (CIDA), USAID, Asian Development Bank and World Bank. So if you’re planning to teach English as a second language there, your salary is mostly subsidized by these funding agencies to the tune of about $4,000. That’s a lot already.

And there are not just Britons who are teaching English in Thailand. There are also Filipinos there. The rationale there is that Britons teach the non-rhotic English accent while Filipinos, who are Americanized, teach the rhotic accent. It is not just a financial opportunity for these English teachers. In Thailand, you will also get to see the Phuket views for free. And since one is an English teacher, you can surely have great discounts to all resort facilities such as its spa and scuba diving facilities. You haven’t known how beautiful Phuket is? Then watch the movie The Beach starring Virginie Ledoyen. You will see the glowing planktons all around the beach during moonless nights. That’s a very fascinating view indeed.

And that’s not all. You can also moonlight as a Hollywood dialogue coach in Thailand. Once in a while, there are major Hollywood productions dropping by here such as Stealth a few years back. They employ local actors and actresses who are not familiar in English and it’s your job to be a Hollywood dialogue coach. Once it has entered your resume, you can surely have a very promising career ahead. You may even go back to your home country in the Philippines where Bigfoot has a huge production facility in the island of Mactan in Cebu. In fact, there’s a current movie being shot there starring a Cambodian model by the name of Bebe Pham. If you’re her dialogue coach, then Bigfoot pays as much.

In the United States, English language teachers are also in need. There are lots of minorities living in the United States and most of them speak the Spanish language. They mostly come from Puerto Rico, Mexico and Cuba. Or else, the reverse happens. Some Caucasians want to do business in Mexico and want to learn English. So putting up a Spanish language school in the United States is financially feasible too. They are mostly sprouting in El Paso, Texas because it’s just a stone’s throw away from Ciudad Juarez of Mexico where there are lots of US factories there, thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).