The Slovenian alphabet has 25 letters that are pronounced the same way they are spelled.
Despite their love for their roots, almost every Slovenian speaks English, German or Italian, so without knowing the local language you will be able to communicate with the passers-by or in a store.
There are many ways to learn a language in Slovenia: take private lessons from a native speaker, use self-study books or enroll in language courses. Every university and many private schools offer paid courses, and the Slovenian government adopted the ZIP program for the initial integration of immigrants. This is a free course to learn the Slovenian language, history and culture of the country.
The courses are available to anyone with a national residence permit or a permanent residence permit:
With the first residence permit a language course of 60 hours is available.
After renewal, 120 more hours of language study and 30 hours of introduction to Slovenian history and culture are available.
If you decide not to take the course in the first year, after the renewal of your residence permit a program of 180 hours of language study and 30 hours of Slovenian history and culture will be available.
A free Slovenian language proficiency test is available at the end of the course with an attendance rate above 80%.
How to enroll in free programs
You can enroll in free Slovenian language programs at the administrative office (Upravna enota). To do so, you must first obtain a certificate that confirms that you are eligible for the program.
It costs € 22.6 and includes:
Certificate of meeting the conditions for participation in the Slovenian language program.
Request to pass the Slovenian language examination.
Certificate of fulfillment of the conditions for participation in the Slovenian history, culture and constitutional system program.
These certificates must be submitted to the chosen educational institution. The ZIP program is free of charge, but you must cover the cost of the study materials.
You will not be able to participate in the free Slovenian language study program if:
You are enrolled in or completed studies at an educational institution in the Republic of Slovenia.
You have already received a certificate of passing the Slovenian language exam.
In such a case, you can enroll in one of the language centers that offer even tourist trips and camps.
You can use the mobile application for smartphone «Slovar». With its help you can easily add vocabulary of the Slovenian language up to the C2 level, learn and practice spelling words. You can find more information on our Facebook page.
Want to learn Slovenian? You can leave a request and we’ll select institutions and study mode, which fit your needs