The pattern that keeps repeating
Week one: ordering coffee, asking for the wifi, smiling pleasantly. Week three: you understand more than you say. Month two: you manage a conversation. Month three: you feel settled. Then the next airport, and it starts again.
That is not a learning problem, it is a time problem. Which is why neither a course nor a textbook works for you. Both assume a year in one place.
What you need in week one
Not small talk, but the conversations where you depend on someone.
- Flat hunting: viewings, rent, length of stay, deposit, what is not working.
- Internet and power: what is included, what you need, who helps.
- Coworking and cafés: desks, hours, wifi, printing.
- Everyday: supermarket, pharmacy, laundry, gym, barber.
- Health: booking, symptoms, what you already have, medication.
- Neighbours and building management: greeting, rules, post, noise, appointments.
Why a sentence supply beats a lesson
Your conversations repeat in every country. The viewing, the dentist appointment, the question about the wifi: the same sentences, in a different language.
Write them once in your own language and take them with you. SprechoMio gives you the translation and the pronunciation in your study language, with up to three languages in one account. Notes in brackets such as “(woman)” or “(man)” fit the form to you.
Learning between flights
The walk to the coworking space, the airport, the flight there: together that is half an hour a day. In Drive Mode it all runs offline with the screen locked, with thinking pauses in which you say the sentence yourself.
On the first evening in the new country, listen to the same sentences again in the local language. You will need them the next morning.
What is realistic
At around 30 minutes a day, your first 50 sentences sit after one month. After about three months you hold short everyday conversations, after about six months you reach A1. Guide values, faster or slower depending on the language and your practice.
For three months in one country the first part is enough. The sentences for the flat, everyday life and the doctor are usable within two or three weeks.
Sentences you will learn for this
You write them in your own language, SprechoMio translates them and speaks them for you.
- “I'm looking for a flat for three months.”The sentence that opens the viewing
- “Is the wifi included in the rent?”What actually matters
- “The kitchen tap isn't giving out hot water.”Reporting a problem without the barrier
- “I need a dentist appointment.”Putting this one off does not help
- “Where's a good place to work round here, with power and wifi?”The question to ask anyone you meet
- “I've just moved in, what are the quiet hours?”First contact with the neighbours
- “Do you know a good café with quiet tables?”Small talk with a purpose
How you learn with SprechoMio
Your own sentences, translated naturally and spoken aloud. Recall instead of rereading, spaced repetition, speaking along: methods proven by learning research. 30 minutes a day, even in the car with your screen locked.
More about the method →Frequently asked questions
I am only staying three months. Is it worth bothering?
For three months you do not need the language, you need the conversations of those three months. That is fifty sentences, usable within a few weeks.
Can't I just get by in English?
In coworking spaces, often yes. With the landlord, at the pharmacy and with the plumber, no. Those are the sentences that make the everyday lighter.
Which language should I pick if I stay in one region?
Croatian and Serbian sit close together, and Spanish, Italian and French share a lot of vocabulary. Finishing one language is worth more than starting three.
Which languages can I choose?
Croatian, Serbian, Spanish, Italian, French, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Czech, English, Dutch and Greek.
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