I am a product of the American public school system. That system is notorious for being lousy at teaching foreign languages. Ours is a program of rote vocabulary memorization, rather than comprehension or immersion. As a result, shockingly few Americans speak foreign languages at all, let alone fluently.

I am one of those Americans who doesn’t speak another language fluently. While my travels and independent study have resulted in my speaking enough French and German to get my point across (although comprehension at people speaking quickly to me is more of a work in progress), and a little Spanish, I am only truly comfortable in English. And especially when my travels take me to places where I know at most only a phrase or two, it can be intimidating knowing that communication might be difficult.

Fortunately, using English is pretty easy in most places. It is by far the most common second language spoken in the world, and even a required subject in many places. But there are some general tips I have for traveling if you are solely an English speaker.

Realize it is not their job to speak English

All you have to do is read reviews of restaurants in other countries to realize that some Americans believe that the world has to adapt to us. Some American tourists are downright angry that staff might not speak English, or might not use it initially. Well, just as visitors to the U.S. can’t expect that Americans will speak their languages, neither can we expect that those in other places will speak ours.

Some places will be more anti-English speaking than others. France, for instance, is notorious for being a “you speak our language” place, especially in Paris. Yes, you can choose to not give business to a place that doesn’t have English speaking staff. But just don’t be rude about it.

Learn a few basic phrases before your trip

While many people, especially those dealing with tourists, will have at least basic English skills, it is really a nice gesture to be able to use a few phrases in the local language. Saying hello, goodbye, and thank you, at the very least, shouldn’t be too difficult to do. I use Google Translate to look those up before my trips, utilizing the function that “speaks” to me so I have a general feel for pronunciation. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But is it something? Yes.

For instance, on my recent trip to Greece, I used Google Translate to teach me how to say “please.” It taught me, in what is probably terrible transliteration for which I apologize, sasparakaliome. Upon arrival, I was told that this was the overly formal version that wasn’t really used, and to instead say parakalo. But I wouldn’t have known at all if not for my pre-learning of the phrase.

Even after conducting an entire conversation in English, it is nice to be able to thank someone in his/her local language. Trust me, that goes a long way.

Adapt to situations where there is no language overlap

As much as using English is possible in so many situations, sometimes you run into an occasion where it isn’t. I was in a small restaurant in Odawara, Japan, where there was virtually zero English among the two staff, to go with my basically zero Japanese. Using a combination of gestures, pointing, and pure guesswork, I was able to order what ended up being an incredible meal.

So what makes these situations workable? First off, be patient. It can take some extra time to get points across. Second, look for cheats. For example, utilize Google Translate if you have reception or wifi, and offer your phone to the other person to do the same. As mentioned above, it won’t be perfect, but it will be a start. Finally, use gestures. If you aren’t sure how to ask for the price to visit a church bell tower, point to the tower, mimic a bell ringing, pull out a banknote and point to it questioningly.

Remember, everyone everywhere (at least those you’ll interact with as a visitor) has a desire to communicate. Realize that and utilize those means at your disposal to bridge the gap. Just be patient while doing so.

Utilize technology to help

It is truly incredible what a cell phone and wifi (or reception) are able to accomplish in the modern world. I’ve navigated entire museums where there was virtually no English signage merely by utilizing the camera function of Google Translate, where it will give me a reasonable translation of text via my camera. I’ve had people speak into my phone for a translation app to do its work on the audio. I’ve typed into one, and had my phone speak the other language translation aloud to a store clerk.

But all of these things only function with either reception or wifi, making it all the more reason to be certain you have access to data when you travel. I use T-Mobile, which offers (albeit slow) data basically all over the world. Otherwise I might choose to rent a local SIM card, or to activate international data for a period of time. (With how long I spend abroad, those pay-by-the-day plans would be rough on my budget.) With wifi being hit/miss in restaurants and public spaces, if you worry about having access to data to utilize your translation apps, having a plan for roaming international data is important.

Conclusion

We, as Americans, are fortunate that English is so commonly spoken all over the world. But it isn’t universal, and we can’t expect it everywhere we go. So while we can largely get by, following the above tips will make your language experience in a foreign country much easier.