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If you have the time and
money you can enrol on 'full immersion' language courses
which are run by a variety of language schools
throughout
Portugal. Most
schools provide tuition and course work books designed
to help you learn Portuguese effectively and quickly.
However this can be an expensive method of
learning
Portuguese if you have to take time
off work and cover the accommodation costs for up to
three months. These courses though will provide you the
opportunity to test out your pronunciation in the
classroom, then in real-life situations on an evening.
If you have
moved to Portugal
then you will be able to take advantage of the many free
language courses (Cursos Lingua Portuguese para Estrangeiros)
which are funded by the Portuguese government and
held at various locations throughout the country.
The
courses are specifically designed for foreigners to
learn Portuguese and are usually held at secondary
schools on an evening. Courses usually begin in
September and it is important to sign up to ensure there
are sufficient numbers to warrant the lessons.
The
courses can be a great way to learn Portuguese, though
remember you will be in a classroom environment where
there will be a mixture of age groups. Teachers will
usually pace the lessons to suit the overall ability of
the class and therefore you can find yourself repeating
subjects session after session. The courses are normally
held on one or two nights of the week and although a
great way to learn Portuguese it is important to
practise every day.
If
learning in a classroom environment is not for you don't
forget you can also look into one-to-one tuition. This
will have a cost implication but means you can learn at
your pace and usually at home.
There
are many other helpful tricks to
learning
Portuguese
which can be carried out at home and in your day to day
life. Utilising post-it notes around the house is
another memory trick which can be helpful in
learning
Portuguese.
By writing the Portuguese word for items on a post-it
note, then sticking it in the relevant locations you
will subconsciously begin recognising the written form
of the item. As an added trick you could also repeat the
word every time you utilise it.
Making
learning
Portuguese fun can aid memory
retention and
if you're a keen scrabble player for example, why not
have a game a day with your family, utilising only
Portuguese words? It may be handy in the initial games
though to have a Portuguese/English dictionary on hand
to avoid any discrepancies though in scoring.
Don't
forget though you are not going to learn Portuguese
overnight and a little hard work will pay off in the
long term, which you will appreciate when you are
sipping wine with your new neighbours here in
Portugal, able
to converse with them. |
