When learning a foreign language, it is advisable to use it in context. That is why books and classes have simulations of situations such as “in the airport”, “meeting new people”, “daily routine”. You can do the same in real situations. Imagine you are going to travel. You can recreate the “in the airport” scenes and write and perform them in the language you are learning. All you need is the vocabulary, simple sentences, and a willingness to practice.

The airport is a good place to start. From there, you can go to different countries and different sceneries. You can make up travels, describe trips you have already made, or journeys you are about to start. You can also talk about your city or your country. The possibilities are endless.

Below we provide a list of vocabulary that you can use (in a pdf, which you can download) and some examples in English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. You can compare and get inspired.

 

Let’s start with a very simple example, which can be completed step by step.

(EN) I live in a city.
(FR) J’habite dans une ville.
(DE) Ich wohne in einer Stadt.
(ES) Vivo en una ciudad.
(PT) Vivo numa cidade.

A city is located in something bigger, like a municipality:

(EN) I live in a city, which is located in a municipality.
(FR) J’habite dans une ville située dans une municipalité.
(DE) Ich wohne in einer Stadt, die zu einer Gemeinde gehört.
(ES) Vivo en una ciudad, que está situada en un municipio.
(PT) Vivo numa cidade, que se situa num município.

Instead of going from smaller to bigger, you can go from bigger to smaller:

(EN) The world has five continents. Each continent has several countries. Each country has several regions. Each region has several municipalities. Each municipality has several cities.
(FR) Le monde compte cinq continents. Chaque continent compte plusieurs pays. Chaque pays a plusieurs régions. Chaque région compte plusieurs municipalités. Chaque municipalité compte plusieurs villes.
(DE) Die Welt hat fünf Kontinente. Jeder Kontinent hat mehrere Länder. Jedes Land hat mehrere Regionen. Jede Region hat mehrere Gemeinden. Jede Gemeinde hat mehrere Städte.
(ES) El mundo tiene cinco continentes. Cada continente tiene varios países. Cada país tiene varias regiones. Cada región tiene varios municipios. Cada municipio tiene varias ciudades.
(PT) O mundo tem cinco continentes. Cada continente tem vários países. Cada país tem várias regiões. Cada região tem vários municípios. Cada município tem várias cidades.

You can talk about your favourite places in the world:

(EN) I love the beaches in the Dominican Republic, but every winter I go to the mountains in Switzerland.
(FR) J’adore les plages de la République Dominicaine, mais chaque hiver je vais dans les montagnes en Suisse.
(DE) Ich liebe die Strände der Dominikanischen Republik, aber jeden Winter gehe ich in die Berge in der Schweiz.
(ES) Me encantan las playas de la República Dominicana, pero todos los inviernos voy a las montañas de Suiza.
(PT) Adoro as praias da República Dominicana, mas todos os invernos vou às montanhas na Suíça.

You can play with the cardinal points:

(EN) Switzerland is located in the centre of Europe. In the north is Germany, in the east is Austria, in the south is Italy and in the west is France.
(FR) La Suisse est située au centre de l’Europe. Au nord se trouve l’Allemagne, à l’est l’Autriche, au sud l’Italie et à l’ouest la France.
(DE) Die Schweiz liegt in der Mitte von Europa. Im Norden ist Deutschland, im Osten ist Österreich, im Süden ist Italien und im Westen ist Frankreich.
(ES) Suiza está situada en el centro de Europa. Al norte está Alemania, al este Austria, al sur Italia y al oeste Francia.
(PT) A Suíça está situada no centro da Europa. A norte fica a Alemanha, a leste a Áustria, a sul a Itália e a oeste a França.

Once you have enough practice in building isolated sentences, you can start building little texts. You can also build your own list of vocabulary. The best way to do this is by topics.