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 (words like “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 literally build a hundred sentences around that,” Mr. 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, chief executives 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 definitely need to find something that you enjoy,” making it more fun to practice regularly, she added.