As I mentioned last week, I plan to challenge myself and to start learning a new language (!). I’ll use the blog to update you on my improvements, what resources I use and how I plan my study.
Group or 1-1
As a working mama, my free time is limited: I run the school, spend time with my family and with friends, travel and have some me-time (very important!). You may remember our blog posts, where we discuss which method of teaching may suit you better: whether to choose individual tuition or group lessons. Due to my irregular availability, I decided to choose individual tuition. I had thought about online lessons, which are usually slightly cheaper and you don’t have to commute to your lesson, but my work commitments allow me to be in Clifton, Bristol, regularly, so I have my 1-1 lessons with our wonderful language tutor, Patricia (who BTW speaks Brazilian and European Portuguese!).
Brazilian or European Portuguese
That’s another question to answer, before you embark on learning Portuguese. Personally, I love the sound of Brazilian Portuguese which is so melodic, so I was very tempted to choose Brazilian, but practicality won; I travel much more often to Portugal, so I’d like to be able to converse and understand European Portuguese.
Learning methods
I have decided to have my individual lessons weekly or bi-weekly. Between my lessons, I’ll try to learn every day (even for as little as 5 minutes), either to say out loud the phrases from the previous lesson(s), re-write them (yes, the power of hand-writing!), read aloud or actively listen to a video in Portuguese. I’m still working on a weekly learning schedule, but once it’s ready, I’ll share it here.
Resources
To learn some basics, I use these graphic YouTube videos and some real-life Portuguese. But, I’m still looking for more online resources to learn Portuguese, so if you have any recommendations, do let me know in the comments below.
Kinga Macalla