10 Tips for Working Abroad in a Foreign Language

We sat waiting in a surprisingly well-furnished boardroom, nervously laying out our materials, and contemplating how we -- an American girl and a Polish guy -- had landed ourselves in Paraguay to complete an economic report on the country for a British newspaper. In Spanish.

Sure, I had studied abroad in Spanish-speaking countries and even had an internship in Guatemala during college, so my company was probably convinced I had the requisite background for this assignment. But this was the real deal. This was the world beyond the classroom. This was where everything I had ever learned in safe environments of graded papers and memorization-based exams was put to the test.

However, things got much easier, not slowly but surely, but by leaps and bounds. Every single meeting triggered memories of conjugations I should be using and all the right forms of the subjunctive came racing back. I learned new words not one-by-one, but in huge clusters, universes of thought in the foreign tongue becoming easily digestible after only a week or two. Through raw experience, I figured out the best ways to prepare myself for battle in my new linguistic environment.

So, whether interning, volunteering, or relocating to work overseas, you may also find yourself in the intimidating territory of applying language skills you’ve gained in the classroom or study abroad in a real-world setting. Here are my top, tried-and-tested tips for anyone working in his or her non-native language.

I learned this the hard way. Do NOT memorize! If you have to give a presentation, focus on internalizing the information, because you will get nervous and you will forget what you're saying if you bank on rote memorization.

Instead, read widely and deeply on your given topic. Build your knowledge naturally so you can speak to it naturally when the time comes. Common themes and ideas will emerge the more you read (in both languages) and focus on developing a deep understanding of your material. Extract 3 main anchors of thought from your research and keep those as your guideposts for the presentation.

When developing a presentation of any kind, focus on making sense in your mother tongue. Regardless of the language of delivery, the most important objective of communication of any kind is being clearly understood -- and you do this best in your native language.

Next, practice impromptu translations of the most important ideas in your structural lay-out. Rehearse, but don't write down any translations. If you get stuck trying to express an idea, look up the one or two key words that unblock the flow.

Especially at first, keep it simple. Rather than stumble over a complicated word or sophisticated grammar structures, gain fluency by relying on the vocabulary you've already mastered.

For example, I had trouble saying "desarrollar" (to develop) in Spanish for a long time, so I chose to say "crecer" (to grow) instead. My audience got my point and I sounded smarter by presenting my thoughts fluidly rather than pumping the brakes over one particular tongue twister. I also had trouble with the subjunctive tense, so when I was in doubt, I stuck to present tense until I picked up the right verb forms from listening to native speakers.

If you know, for example, that you will be conducting surveys, working with similar kinds of patients, having frequent dialogues about financial markets or fundraising, make sure you find a native buddy to role play these scenarios with you until your responses are second nature.

Take note of what phrases and vocabulary they use and practice applying those, too. Remember: Fluency comes from moving your mouth and saying everything out loud to someone who can understand and correct you. Practicing actually speaking is essential.

Buy a small Moleskin and keep it in your pocket or purse. Every time you can’t think of a word, stumble on pronunciation, get a correction, or hear a native speaker use new vocabulary, write it down! Focus on writing down entire phrases from your environment because studying phrases vs. words will help build fluency faster. Review your notebook every night and vow to apply 5 noted lessons the next day.

You will probably always make slight grammar mistakes and have an accent as a non-native speaker. Embrace it, because it is part of your identity as a foreign speaker of the language. While I always strive for the best pronunciation I am capable of, I am aware that I will always sound a bit, well, foreign. The most important thing is to understand and to be understood, and to use your skills as the medium for exchanging ideas and experiences with other speakers of that language.

There may be a tendency at the onset of working and living in your new language environment to get stiff when speaking. You're focused on digging up and stringing together the right words in the right order in the right accent -- and it's stressful work at first! Remember to smile, breathe, use humor when you can, and let your personality shine through the words themselves.

Even if you’re scared, even if you hear yourself making mistakes, and even if you’re sitting next to another foreigner who speaks ten times better than you do, never. stop. speaking! The only way to get better is to keep trying, keep making mistakes, and keep having a good attitude about the learning curve that’s ahead of you.

If your spoken language isn’t perfect, at least focus on presenting yourself with confident, kind, and open body language that helps convey the right message. Make eye contact with your audience (even if you’re messing up!), use gentle gestures that underline what you’re saying, and SMILE!

Being a non-native speaker, you have a lifetime of mistake-making ahead of you, so get used to it sooner rather than later. It's not unheard of that I even completely invent a word in Spanish when sitting with the CEO of a major Paraguayan company. I know I've done it when a sudden hint of a smile creeps across his lips and his eyes twinkle, breaking the seriousness of our discussion on his bank's debt-equity ratio.

Then, I pause, and with a chuckle, say, "That wasn't a word, was it?" He always laughs, and we share a moment that, if anything, shows I’m human and fosters a more authentic connection between us. Remember, the most successful people bear their flaws and own them, and speakers of foreign languages are no exception.

Indeed, learning a foreign language and using a foreign language are two distinct things, a fact you will understand to a painful degree of self-consciousness the first time your classroom instruction finally drop-kicks you into the battlefield, armed with a weapon you never actually had to fire before.

With the above tactics in mind, you will overcome the initial shock and hurdles of such an experience with greater grace and agility. Before you know it, you will be speaking, thinking, dreaming, arguing, persuading, joking, writing, singing, dating, engaging, and triumphing in your new language!