Living in Romania, but Everyone Speaks English to You
You order a coffee in Romanian. The person behind the counter smiles and replies in English. You try again at lunch, and the conversation switches to English after your first sentence. By the end of the day, you have heard Romanian everywhere but have barely spoken it.
For many people living in Romania, this becomes an unexpected obstacle. English makes daily life easier, especially at the beginning. But if every conversation moves to English, when do you get to practise Romanian?
Why do people switch to English?
Usually, they are trying to help. They may hear you searching for a word and want to make the conversation quicker. Or they may simply enjoy the chance to speak English themselves.
That can be a relief when you need to solve something urgently. It is less helpful when you have set out to practise. The trick is to recognise which conversations are good opportunities to try and which ones need to be quick and clear. You do not have to turn every trip to the pharmacy into a language lesson.
Give the conversation a reason to stay in Romanian
A phrase such as Învăț română. Putem vorbi în română? (“I’m learning Romanian. Can we speak in Romanian?”) can help. So can Puțin mai rar, vă rog (“A little more slowly, please”).
Be ready with one question after your opening sentence. If you order a coffee, you might ask what kinds of cake they have. If a neighbour asks how you are, you could answer and then ask about their weekend. That next question gives the exchange somewhere to go before it slips back into English.
You will not always get a long conversation, and that is fine. A few sentences you manage yourself are more useful than a perfect conversation someone else carries for you.
Make room for Romanian outside quick transactions
A busy cashier may have no time to wait while you find a word. A friend, neighbour or classmate might. Tell someone you know that you would like to spend ten minutes speaking Romanian when you meet. Choose a familiar subject so you can focus on the conversation rather than looking up every other word.
If you live with a Romanian speaker, you could try doing one small part of your day in Romanian: planning dinner, talking about a film or deciding what to do at the weekend. Keep the goal manageable. When the conversation becomes too complicated, you can switch languages and return to Romanian later.
What if you understand more than you can say?
This is common when you live in Romania. You hear the language on the street, in shops and around friends, so familiar words begin to stand out. Answering is harder because you have to put the words together yourself, often before the other person has finished waiting.
A Romanian language course for foreigners gives you time to do exactly that. You can practise a conversation, stop to ask why a phrase works, and try it again. Then, when a similar situation comes up outside class, you have more than a memorised line to rely on.
At Echo, we start with the situations in which you want to use Romanian. For one person, that might be speaking to neighbours; for another, following a conversation with their partner’s family or handling everyday errands. You can find out more about our Romanian courses for foreigners.
Living in Romania gives you plenty of chances to hear Romanian. Learning to speak it takes a little more intention: asking people to stay with you in the language, finding conversations where you can take your time, and practising what you want to say before you need to say it.