I’ve toyed with the idea of picking up the ‘I must ‘Learn Portuguese’ lesson‘ baton I dropped many years ago for a while. When I try to speak Portuguese in shops and restaurants, my efforts are so hopeless that I am encouraged to communicate in English. For example I recently asked a waitress for ‘uma sobremesa e dois coelhos‘ which translated to ‘one dessert and two rabbits) instead of ‘uma sobremesa e duas colheres‘ (one dessert and two spoons)! To her credit, she didn’t laugh.
I believe I failed to learn Portuguese when I had private lessons when we first moved here because the teacher refused to grasp the fact that I only wanted to learn conversational Portuguese and not pass the higher exam in Portuguese grammar and conjugate every verb in every tense. Needless to say, frustrated and disheartened, I gave up after a couple of years. Another year passed, and I tried a course at the local school. Again, the teacher focused on grammar instead of conversation.
It was hardly surprising I failed. I was so busy trying to memorise all the personal pronouns and carefully conjugate each verb for the I (Eu) you (Tu)(familiar) and you for people I didn’t know(você) he (Ele), she (Ela), they masculine (eles) and they feminine (elas) and you plural (vocês), then conjugate the verb as appropriate in the right tense … phew! that when I opened my mouth to speak, words failed me and I reassembled a goldfish gasping for air. Mr. Piglet reckoned that when I had a glass or four of Vinho it loosened my tongue and I lost my inhibitions and became fluent.
English is SO simple by comparison!
Yes, I now get it. It’s a bit like the chicken and the egg situation. You can’t have one without the other, but there needs to be a balance. A gradual progression where you build confidence and, with confidence, you progress and not dunked in the deep end from day one.
By the end of each lesson, my brain resembled a scrambled egg, or at least mine did because I’m not a natural linguist. Other nationalities take to Portuguese like ducks to water. I still remember my eyes glazing over as a sense of hopelessness washed over me while the teacher spoke fluent gobblygook from the planet Zog.
So why the change of heart after all this time? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because my friends have all signed up to take lessons. They signed up for 150 hours over 2 years, two lessons of two hours and twenty minutes twice a week. I salute them. Such an intense course would definitely scramble my brain.
Maybe I feel frustrated because I still flounder to express myself. I’d love to speak to my neighbour. We both try but to be honest even ‘Google Translate’ struggles with her Algarvian accent and doesn’t recognise the language. If you can’t communicate, you are unable to fully integrate into the local community and life in general. You live in a bubble.
I don’t know if my house is bugged, but what should appear in my Facebook Feed but ‘PORTUGUESE MADE EASY’ and the website Portuguish with the promise:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO FINALLY START COMMUNICATING IN PORTUGUESE?
https://www.portuguish.pt/
Learn with Portuguese native speakers, in a very easy and informal way!
“Portuguish” is a concept created to offer a much easier approach based on your daily life. The idea is not to be a perfect speaker. The goal is just to be able to start communicating in Portuguese and improve as you wish.
This was precisely what I needed, so I roped in Mr. Piglet to join me and we signed up. We completed the foundation course and then booked the one-to-one lessons—or, in our case, one teacher and two people with one brain cell. But that’s okay. Progress is slow but sure.
We started our lessons via Zoom on the 3rd of September, and we are making good progress.
I record all the vocabulary we cover in each lesson so I can keep track and use Brainscape to set up my own flashcards online. The teacher also creates flashcards so we gradually build a broader vocabulary between the two. So far so good.
Featured Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay
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Piglet in Portugal 
Hi Carole. I have to agree with you, the Portuguese grammar is not easy at all! Have you tried Duolingo? I had the same problem with French. I learned in school many moons ago and was never fluent, but due to the fact my daughter’s in laws are French, I thought it would be nice to relearn French so I could communicate more easily with them/or at least to be able to grasp a bit more when the whole French family gets together and they all talk 100 miles an hour and I just switch off… but the French teacher just wanted the small class to know the verbs and tenses, and put all the sentences in the right order, bla, bla,bla, so after 2 years of once a week class I gave up as even though I could understand her it took me ages to figure out a reply.
All I wanted was to have a conversational class. I also find language podcasts useful, as I can be doing housework and listen to the lesson and repeat, replay, etc as many times as I want.
I’ve tried looking for a good beginners Portuguese podcast, but I can only find them in Brazilian Portuguese, and that would add another difficulty with different pronunciation and grammar structure.
Best of luck with your new learning method 🙂
Sami
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Hi Sami, long time no speak! I was only thinking of you the other day. Duolingo I believe is Brazilan Portuguese. We have private lessons with Ines at Portuguese Puzzle and we are lucky our teacher, Dylan, is patient and enthusiastic. We remind him we don’t want to get too bogged down and I pester him about pronounciation and tell him when our brains are on overload.
I understand what you are saying about speaking French. We tried as our daughter lives in France but trying to learn two languages is just too difficult and we lost the will to live. On our last trip we used Google translate to listen to conversations and it was interesting. HAve you tried that?
Inbetween lessons and homeowrk we have signed up to a couple of Podcasts and are working through those. We try and study a little every day with the hope some of it sinks in. LoL
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I’m teaching myself Portuguese and I make a load of mistakes. The best way to learn is to speak to people in Portuguese and make these mistakes. For example you won’t ask for two rabbits to eat your desert again will you? 😉 And don’t put too much pressure on yourself either. I have been learning now for ten years or so and I have a small opportunity to practice my speaking skills when I am on holiday in Madeira each year. I am not fluent but I can hold a conversation. Ficar bem e boa sorte com seu aprendizado
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Muito obridgado, Rochdalestu. Respect for studying Portuguese for ten years and making progress.
Unfortunately teaching myself did not work for me. During COVID, I tried various YouTube lessons. The problem with me I like to ask questions. Hence the private lessons.. AND I don’t have the motivation to self-study.
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De nada 🤗 It’s definitely a personal choice for your learning methods. I have tried the books with a CD which has a stock saying eg “Ola, muito prazer e tudo bem contigo?” Which came with a stock answer “Igualmente, tudo e tu?” Or something similar to that. But in practice I got the question introduction down to perfection but I was then answered with a statement that was different from the one I was used to with the book/CD. I don’t speak perfect Portuguese but I can say things that are understood by people who say that I have a unique style of speaking which I quite like. My pronunciation needs some work but it’s all about practice practice and practice. The more you speak the better you will become.
Eu espero tu tem um ótimo fds e desfruta qualquer coisa fazer
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I’m just cowardly when it comes down to it, Carole, and I don’t even really know what I’m scared of. Perhaps making a fool of myself, but I do that all the time in my ‘normal’ life. I started out going to the Seniors Academy locally, but there were just too many people in the class. Whoever shouted loudest got the teacher’s attention. Then we tried a Language School and that was good but, like you, I was brain dead after a session. My next door neighbour signed up to the Government sponsored course, and supplements that with a private lesson and a conversation class. I just need a kick up the jacksy! My Inbox is full of emails offering Portuguese lessons, but here I am, on the blog, ignoring them all!
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At least you’ve tried, Jo. This is my last ditch attempt and roping in Mr. Piglet has helped because it something we can do together. He has far better listening skills than me but I am better at the written word. I know it’s going to take a long time but I find the private online lessons with Portuguish really good. I don’t like the classroom environment because by the time I’ve thought of the answer the teacher has moved on LoL
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I might give it a go. I can mumble along and get by but I’d love to be able to hold a proper conversation x
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How hard it must be! Best of luck.
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Yep, it is hard. I am better at writing and reading then listening.
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I’ve wanted to learn Portuguese for a very long time. Life keeps getting in the way. My hope is to get started if of when things settle down. Cheers to you for giving it a go again. It’s never too late to learn.
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Sorry… if or when.
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I find the personalised Zoom lessons excellent. We’ve already learned so much. and no, it is never to late to learn… although I do feel sorry for our teacher LoL
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This post had me laughing this morning, Carole. I can definitely identify. I want to learn basic Spanish because our winter home is on the Mexican border and we make many trips across each winter season. Last winter, I got a little app called Duolingo and half-heartedly started. I wasn’t brave enough to try out the little I learned. Your post this morning has encouraged me to take it up again. We have a few Mexican residents in our park who I’m sure would be willing to help.
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Hi Terry, I am pleased my posts made you chuckle. I am pleased it encouraged you to take up Spanish. Even if you learn the basics to get by. You are lucky to have a few MExican residents to practice on. Where we live it is mainly foreigners.
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I do know the necessary , “Una cerveza por favor” 😉🍺
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Amazing how some phrases stick better than others LoL
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Wow I am so happy for you that you found a way orward in this difficult language. I have also started, and given up. Started again and are still struggeling. We do not meet enough of portuguese people to keep the self-confidence, but sometimes is works really well when I speak. Boa sorte!
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It is tough especially as we get older. We are in a similar situation where we don’t have enough interaction with Portuguese. I am hoping this will change as we become more fluent.
Do you go to lessons?
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I have done online lessons in several different ways, but never personlized. And also went to lessons for seniors. But it doesn´t stick. Have contacted “your” Ines now, and hopefully me and my neighbour can learn more from her! Thanks for the recommendation!
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