How to pick up the local language before you go

Observer

30-07-2025

There are plenty of reasons to learn a foreign language before you travel. Perhaps you're venturing beyond major tourist centers, or you want to be prepared for emergencies. Whatever the reason, speaking even a few words of the local language with residents can quickly elevate you from mere tourist to sympathetic traveler.
'This tiny interaction instantly connects you,' said Mary Green, vice president and executive editor of Pimsleur Language Programs, in an email. 'That's the feeling travelers are chasing. You're not just passing through, but actually engaging and connecting.'
Fortunately, there are lots of ways to learn languages, and getting started is affordable or even free.
Start simply and build from there
Aim to reach a 'survival level' before you travel. That means abandoning your inhibitions and not getting hung up on grammar or achieving proficiency, said Thomas Sauer, assistant director of resource development for the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. Travelers can connect and communicate surprisingly well at this level, which he described as a speaking style, akin to that of a toddler, that gets the point across.
For Brandon Shaw, a co-owner of the Tour Guy, a company providing specialized tours in Europe and North America, reaching survival level means focusing on a core of essential verbs (including 'go,' 'see,' 'eat,' 'drink,' 'have,' 'do' and 'be'), then learning a small vocabulary of other words centered on your particular interests for a given trip.
'Then you can build a hundred sentences around that,' Shaw said.
Learning those 'right words' doesn't happen overnight. Getting beyond the transactional tourist tropes of 'Where's the bathroom?' and 'Check, please,' for example, can take anywhere from one to three months of daily practice, although everyone learns differently. As with a fitness program, you get out of language study what you put in. The trick is finding what works for you.
Hit the apps
Diplomats, CEOs and missionaries often learn languages in high-intensity, immersive environments with dedicated instructors. For the rest of us, an app is often the first step.
Esther Gutierrez Eugenio, a language learning expert from Geneva, said apps can be helpful — she prefers Babbel — but encouraged learners to test several options. More important than any specific app or method is to get started right away, she said, and practice every day. Shorter, consistent sessions are more effective than longer, sporadic ones.
'There's a big time and effort commitment when you learn a language. So you need to find something that you enjoy,' making it more fun to practice regularly, she added.
Test out different apps like Duolingo, Babbel, Memrise, and Busuu, which all offer either free versions or free trials, to see which one works for you.
Eugenio recommends systems that employ spaced repetition, an evidence-based learning technique that reviews and repeats material at increasing intervals.
Some apps, like Duolingo, use spaced repetition, but don't always provide authentic cultural context, which is important for learning intuitively, said Sauer.
Eugenio said some of her clients have had success conversing and drilling with artificial intelligence chatbots in voice mode. And Google, whose Translate app is already indispensable for travelers, recently released Little Language Lessons, a free, customizable, interactive tool that uses AI.
Speaking with another person can help you make progress, Sauer said, and apps like HelloTalk or Tandem, which both offer free versions, can be a good way to find a partner who speaks your target language and wants to learn English. You can also check out the Language Learning Community on the social platform Discord.
For an entertaining way to learn, stream a foreign movie or TV show, turn on the English subtitles, and try to follow along. To improve listening comprehension, cue up music in a foreign language and view the lyrics using Apple Music or Spotify.
If apps aren't your thing, consider time-tested alternatives such as in-person classes, language groups, practice sessions with a fluent friend, books, audio guides or flash cards. Many of these resources are free at your local library.
Be brave, and resist falling back on English
Don't fear being laughed at or scolded for speaking imperfectly, said Massimo Macchiavello, the marketing manager for Posta, a destination management company in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
When visitors speak to him in broken Spanish, Macchiavello said, 'It's easy to see they are making an effort to communicate, and in that effort, there comes a bond with us.'
Once you're at your destination, resist the urge to initiate or respond in English, and try to speak the local language whenever people are receptive. It's fine to seek help with pronunciation or in finding the right word, or to ask speakers to slow down or repeat themselves, Macchiavello said.
You're going to make mistakes and run into limits, and that's all right. Or as Green said: 'You don't need thousands of words, just the right ones, and the confidence to use them.'
This article originally appeared in