1. LESSONS LEARNED:
2. COPY/PASTE & LEARN ON YOUR PLANE RIDE:
3. GREETINGS/FORMALITES:
4. RESTAURANTS/FOOD:
5. ESSENTIALS:
6. FOR FUN:
7. FAVORITE LANGUAGE LEARNING TOOLS & RESOURCES:

In one line: Take the time to learn these 20-30 words/phrases every time you travel to a new country–it will greatly enhance your experience and allow you to engage more deeply with the locals, have fun, use your brain, and learn more in the process.

Having been away from home for about a year, language learning has been a consistent topic on my mind. Spanish has been my mountain and having worked with lots of different teachers/methods, gone to a physical school, listened to podcasts, and experimented with what feels like every option out there, I thought sharing my lessons would be worthwhile. I also don’t know a single person who has ever becoming fluent or even reasonably competent in a language using duolingo/babbel/etc. so I would avoid those if you’re serious about learning,

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Language learning is difficult but it’s also one of the most rewarding things you will ever do in your life
2. Take the time to learn the language when you travel, even if it’s just a few words or phrases, most places you go, locals will take to you much more favorably and you’ll get to use your brain in the process
3. It might be embarrassing when you pronounce things incorrectly, but you will be shocked by how understanding, forgiving, and APPRECIATIVE people are that you are even TRYING; most people let their fear/potential embarrassment trump their willingness to try which is a tragedy
4. Everyone learns differently and most instructors online/schools aren’t professionals or only think there’s one way to teach leading to an “it’s my way or the highway” style–do not tolerate a lack of structure and curated learning tailored/optimized for you. Classroom style learning & memorization isn’t typically great, especially if you are long removed from the system of Academia or don’t have a steady stream of Adderall; be quick to fire/move on to new resources if you’re not making measurable progress
5. Don’t put unrealistic/unnecessary deadlines on yourself–life hackers obsess about “learning languages in 1 month/3months”–whatever. It’s not important how fast you learn. It only matters learning in a way that’s fun, useful and will stick with you for the long run

COPY/PASTE & LEARN ON YOUR PLANE RIDE:

Before I get on the plane, I’ll translate this list of only +/- 30 words/phrases (by hand) by writing in my journal and then study while in transit. It is a great baseline to work with as soon as you land in a new country where not knowing any of the language can be really intimidating and create a stranger in a strange land feeling. Then, the assumption is you’re getting in a taxi to your hotel/apartment/destination. Use that as an opportunity to ask your driver the proper pronunciation and learn more about things local vs. sitting on your phone/sitting in silence!

GREETINGS/FORMALITES:

1. Hello/Good day/afternoon/evening
2. Goodbye
3. Yes/No/that/this/general affirmation
4. How are you?
5. What’s your name?
6. Please/Thank you very much
7. See you later/soon
8. Where is the bathroom?
9. I’m sorry, I only speak a little/don’t speak ____ (language)
10. Nice to meet you!

RESTAURANTS/FOOD:

1. I would like…extra/on the side/in addition/without
2. Can I have the check please? Cash/card?
3. Breakfast/lunch/dinner
4. Water (with/without gas)/coffee/your favorite beverage
5. Cheese/meat/fish/vegetables/bread/your favorite foods
6. Delicious!/enjoy!

ESSENTIALS:

1. Where is the…exit/entrance/do I pay?
2. How much is that/it/does it cost?
3. How far is it/long to get there?
4. Where are you from?
5. How old are you?
6. Right/left/straight/corner
7. I have/don’t have any money

FOR FUN:

1. You are/that is nice, funny, beautiful, exciting, etc.
2. Let’s go (now)!
3. All good
4. Ready!/ready?
5. Hope to see you again

FAVORITE LANGUAGE LEARNING TOOLS & RESOURCES:

1. Learncraft Spanish — far & away the best tool if you’re looking to establish true fluency in Spanish
2. Michel Thomas Learning Method — cheap audiobooks you can download and listen to while in transit/traveling
3. Untranslatable — words/phrases only used by locals that won’t work translate to English or other languages directly
4. DeepL — my favorite translator tool
5. 123teachme — specific for Spanish learning — conjugator and sentence maker
6. Tim Ferriss Tools — someone who’s a master lifehacker and has shared tons of tools and lessons from learning many languages
7. Fluent.co — this is $5/month browser plugin that overlays vocab and phrases while prompting writing, speaking and listening — it’s a fun little addition