A friend of mine from the UK recently landed in Madrid’s Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport to visit me while on study abroad. Astounded by her madrileño airport experience, she said to me: “you will not believe it. It took me 1 hour to find the exit because no one spoke English”.
She couldn’t ask for directions. Rushing about, hopelessly approaching unforgiving airport staff, and trying to find a non-existent Internet connection to use Google Translate, all because she didn’t know how to say ¿dónde está la salida por favor?
Yep, that was an evening in October 2025. During the age of English-language domination and AI translators.
It’s a common misconception that English is widely spoken in foreign countries. That was one example to demonstrate how having a few key phrases under her belt could have saved my friend lots of time and panic.
Here are 5 personal experiences I’ve had where knowing a language while travelling made it all worth it.
1. When a cute old lady (or hot guy) asks you for directions.
Last week, someone asked me for directions on three separate occasions. There seems to be a lot of lost people near Embajadores metro in Madrid. One was an old man, then an old lady, and lastly, a cute guy. Save yourself the stuttering, broken apologies, and awkward eye contact. Whip out a confident “I will google it for you” instead. It’s a tiny, small interaction that could lead to a fabulous conversation, or simply give you a happy-feeling boost, knowing that you helped someone.
2. Ordering a pint
This one seems pretty basic. Of course it helps to know how to order in another language. But it goes further than that. What to do when you want a pint, but don’t realise that in Spain they say doble (and not pinto). Spare yourself the disappointment of getting an #upsettingpint and learn the write phrase.
3. Meeting new people + scratching beneath the surface
This is a big one, that perhaps we don’t always consider. When you meet someone, and want to make a connection with them, there’s only so far you can go when you don’t speak their native language. That person thinks, breathes, and feels in their mother tongue. Their memories and experiences are in that language, it forms a fundamental part of who they are. So with that in mind, wouldn’t you rather know someone’s true and authentic self by learning a few key phrases?
4. Buying a train ticket.
As in any city, navigating public transport can be very confusing. Here in Madrid, we are blessed with a fabulous transport network of metros and commuter trains. Knowing what ticket to buy (with the best discounts for students) as well as which line to take is tricky when you can’t ask anyone due to a dreaded language barrier. Even when I wanted to buy my transport card on the machines, I was forced to resort to human help to get to my end destination. Knowing a bit of vocabulary makes it is so much clearer and faster.
5. The sausage panic: with or without gluten?
I’m thinking of a gluten-free friend here. While on holiday we were in a supermarket near Malaga and wanted to buy a pack of sausages. There was no ingredients list on the packaging, so a human conversation was once again necessary to avoid my friend having any severe reactions. Good job someone in the group remembered their GCSE Spanish knowledge!
These are just a few examples of when languages have come in handy when abroad. Not only does it make you feel better (and like less of a tourist), but it also bodes well for our reputation abroad (I’m speaking for us Brits, sorry not sorry). People appreciate the effort of being spoken to in their native tongue. We are all human after all, and in a world where English is considered the default language, that added personal touch and connection makes it all the more special.
Just start with the top 20 travel phrases. It’s that easy.
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