How to Learn a Language While Studying Abroad

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Editor’s note from Benny: After I finished university and moved to Spain, many of my first friends there were exchange students learning Spanish. I wished I had explored studying abroad before I graduated. This guest post was originally published in 2015, when Winfried shared what he had learnt from studying in Oslo. Erasmus+ rules have since changed, so the programme details below have been updated from current European Union guidance.

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Guest post by Winfried. In 2014 and 2015, I spent ten months in Norway through the University of Vienna’s Scandinavian Studies programme. Scandinavian Studies was not my main degree, but it gave me a route into the language and region.

Those ten months in Oslo were among the best times of my life. I made lasting friends, met my girlfriend Alejandra, who is from Argentina, and became conversational in Norwegian. Back in Austria, I kept reading, watching television and talking with friends in Norwegian.

My experience is historical and personal, not a promise that every exchange works the same way. Here is how to check the current study-abroad route and create real opportunities to use the language.

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

Who Is Eligible to Study Abroad?

Eligibility depends on your institution, programme, destination, study level and immigration status. Start with your university’s international office. Ask which partners accept students from your course, how selection works, what language evidence is required, and how credits will count towards your degree.

For the current 2021–2027 Erasmus+ programme, higher-education students do not apply directly to the EU for a mobility grant. Their institution selects participants and applies for funding. A study period must be relevant to the student’s degree and covered by a learning agreement between the sending and receiving institutions.

Erasmus+ long-term study mobility generally lasts from two to twelve months. Short blended mobility can include five to thirty days abroad plus a virtual component. Limits and exceptions depend on the study cycle and programme. A grant is a contribution to travel and living costs, not a guarantee that every cost will be covered.

EU Member States and several associated countries participate fully, while institutions in many other countries can join certain actions under specific conditions. Use the official Erasmus+ study-abroad page and your institution’s current guidance rather than assuming an old partner list still applies.

Outside Erasmus+, universities may run bilateral exchanges or other mobility schemes. A direct application to a foreign university can also be possible, but fees, visas, credit recognition, insurance and housing may work differently. Get the academic and financial terms in writing before committing.

In my case, the University of Vienna offered several partner destinations for Scandinavian Studies. I chose Oslo and had to match my classes there to my Vienna curriculum. That planning worked for me, but students should not assume an exchange will automatically avoid delaying graduation.

What Are the Benefits of Learning a Language Abroad?

Studying abroad can give you repeated contact with the language in lectures, administration, hobbies, friendships and daily errands. It can also expose you to academic habits and viewpoints that differ from those at home.

Exposure alone does not guarantee fluency. Progress depends on your starting point, the languages used in your course and social life, the feedback you receive, and what you deliberately practise.

Why Study Abroad? Why Not Just Stay at Home?

You do not need to move abroad to learn a language. Online lessons, local communities and focused practice can all work. An exchange is valuable when it also fits your academic, financial and personal goals.

Before applying, compare the likely benefit with tuition or fees, grant support, rent, travel, accessibility, healthcare, visa conditions and the effect on your degree timeline. Ask current or recent participants about the less visible costs as well as the highlights.

How to Learn a Language When Studying Abroad

Decide what you want the language to do during the exchange. Passing a seminar, handling daily life and building close friendships require different vocabulary and practice.

1. Learn the Language Beforehand

I studied Norwegian for four semesters before moving to Oslo. That preparation helped, but fast speech, dialects and academic writing were still difficult when I arrived.

If your course may be taught in the local language, ask the host institution for its actual entry requirement. A CEFR level such as B1 can be useful shorthand, but admission may depend on a test, certificate, department or individual class. Do not assume one level guarantees access everywhere.

Before departure, practise the tasks you will face first: introducing yourself, understanding housing instructions, asking lecturers for clarification and reading a timetable. If academic credit matters, confirm what support exists before choosing a class taught in your target language.

2. Learn the Language While Studying Abroad

If you begin after arrival, use the host university’s language classes, self-study and small recurring interactions. Set a routine you can sustain alongside coursework. A second-semester class in the local language may become possible, but only the department can tell you whether your level and timetable fit.

International friendships are a real part of exchange life, not a failure of immersion. The problem comes only when your social routine gives you no contact with the language you hoped to learn.

Why Exchange Students Often Default to English

In many international groups, English is the shared language. Local speakers may also switch to English because it is quicker or because they want to include everyone. English ability varies between people and settings, so country-wide claims are not useful.

I met students in Norway who mainly improved their English, and that was a valid goal for them. For me, it meant I needed additional settings where Norwegian was the normal language.

How to Build More Time in the Local Language

Do not treat local students as free tutors or friendships as language transactions. Look for activities where participation is welcome and the language has a natural purpose. Tell people you would like to practise, accept a switch when communication matters, and arrange explicit language time when both people agree.

Student Organisations

At my university in Norway, I joined student activities and volunteered in a faculty café and bar. I met many Norwegian friends there because we were doing something together, not because I had approached them only for practice.

Check the joining rules, accessibility and time commitment. Choose one group you genuinely like and attend often enough for people to know you.

The Buddy System

A buddy programme can help new students understand buildings, services and university routines. In my first semester I joined a buddy group; in the second I became a buddy leader. It introduced me to international students, including Alejandra, and to Norwegian organisers.

Buddy programmes differ. Ask whether yours is designed for orientation, social events, language exchange or some combination, then set your expectations accordingly.

Language Tandem

A tandem makes the exchange explicit: each person practises a language the other speaks. I taught German to two Norwegian partners and spoke Norwegian with them. Agree on the time split, correction style and cancellation expectations so both people benefit.

Free-Time Activities

A choir, sports club, hiking group, volunteering shift or gaming group can give you repeated, meaningful contact. Search the university directory and local community listings, then check whether beginners are welcome.

You can keep your international friendships and still make room for the local language. Put the opportunity into your weekly schedule instead of expecting geography to create immersion for you.

About the contributor: Winfried wrote this guest post from his experience studying in Oslo in 2014 and 2015. The WordPress byline is Guest Author; Benny wrote the editor’s note, while the first-person study-abroad account is Winfried’s.