Image © Eric Duriez
The Surprising Language-Learning Hack That Was Never Really Intended To Be A Hack.
Years ago, at a Swiss international school, several of QBE’s longtime patrons learned to speak decent idiomatic French in fairly short order.
But it didn’t just happen in the classroom.
It happened in hallways. On the sports field. Sharing a fondue with friends. Browsing the local boutiques. Their French improved not because of conjugation charts (though those mattered), but because of their peers and because they all wanted to participate more fully in a magical international experience. So they enthusiastically took ownership of their own language learning, picking up as much as they could.
Adolescence is uniquely suited to this kind of learning. Teenagers absorb language socially. They pick up idioms, rhythm, tone, humor—the living, breathing elements that rarely make it into textbooks but determine whether communication feels fluid or forced.
At QBE Sailing, our expeditions are not language courses, per se. Instruction is in English, so some competence in the language is required. Many of our crew members are native speakers. That said, we don’t offer structured language instruction for those who aren’t. That’s not our thing. But… Anglophone teens share their idiomatic English with their non-native-speaking crewmates, including the nuances that sharpen listening comprehension and expression. French-speaking participants, in turn, become cultural ambassadors ashore, guiding their new friends through seaside cafés and harbor towns with essential conversational French. The learning is unstructured and practical.
And the impact extends far beyond a more idiomatic lexicon.
When teenagers successfully navigate moments in another language—ordering food, asking directions, sharing a joke—they experience a shift in identity. They begin to see themselves as capable participants in a larger world. Exposure to international peers fosters a sense of cosmopolitan confidence: the subtle assurance that they can adapt, communicate, and function across cultures.
That confidence matters.
Students who have meaningful international experiences are often more motivated to pursue language study seriously when they return home. Language is no longer an abstract academic requirement; it becomes a tool for connection, travel, and opportunity. The same is frequently true of the liberal arts more broadly. History, literature, culture, and global studies become tangible rather than theoretical.
Universities consistently value applicants who demonstrate cross-cultural competence, global awareness, and intellectual curiosity. But beyond admissions, these experiences cultivate something deeper: openness, empathy, and intellectual seriousness.
We certainly don’t pretend to be a language course.
What we see instead are teens who listen more attentively, speak more confidently, and approach learning with renewed purpose, because they have glimpsed a wider world and discovered they can navigate it.
Sometimes the most enduring language lessons happen not at a desk, but in a café, on a deck, and in the shared work of sailing historic coastlines on a traditional boat.