Learning to speak, read and write Portuguese

[martin]

with my Portuguese i find that when I am buying anything everyone understands me, but when I selling anything or taking something back my Portuguese is unintelligible ---strange init!!

[shanagarry]

Not wishing to pour scorn on the free classes, - I suspect they will be large classes, with a mixture of nationalities with little room for individual attention - making learning very difficult.

If you are going to approach it properly - small groups is the most reliable way to ensure a good grasp of the content.

[blue]

The other thing I've found is when I've been to the junta to enquire about classes is that they expect you to talk Portuguese, if I could do that I wouldn't need the classes.

[HampshireRich]

How's the Portuguese coming along Shanagarry? - fluent yet?

[tricky]

Does anyone know of any portuguese tutors in the North West of England?

[shanagarry]

HR

This is a welcome respite from the other 'excited' topic. I daren't mention the 'E" word.

We start classes in October and really looking forward to it - watch this space

[HampshireRich]

HR

This is a welcome respite from the other 'excited' topic. I daren't mention the 'E" word.

We start classes in October and really looking forward to it - watch this space

Well post something Portugues and I'll try to translate for myself

[jeremy]

Tricky:

http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Po ... D/page.htm

[laserblazer]

We have Polish kids at school who soon pick up English, with extra help. Often, one parent has only a few words of English and poor grammar but each time they come in they have improved and have enough English to get by. My plan is to learn the nouns and some adjectives, then phrases and let the grammar sort itself out. That's how kids learn.

[HampshireRich]

HR

This is a welcome respite from the other 'excited' topic. I daren't mention the 'E" word.

We start classes in October and really looking forward to it - watch this space

Well post something Portuguese and I'll try to translate for myself

Note: Friday 20th August - corrected some spelling to appease the accursed Mr Crane

[Mike Banks]

Does anyone know of any portuguese tutors in the North West of England?

About a year ago we tried to find a Portuguese course at evening classes but failed. A waiter in a restaurant in Bramhall told us about a Portuguese lady in Didsbury who gave lessons privately, but when we contacted her she told us that she had retired. I've tried the Cheshire, Stockport and Derbyshire local authority websites, but none have courses available. In Derbyshire there are evening classes for French, Spanish, Italian, German, Greek and even Japanese, but no Portuguese. I wrote to the county council to enquire into the possibility of arranging such a course in future, but haven't received a reply. It's the 6th most widely spoken language in the world, so you'd have thought there would be classes somewhere in the area.

[steve]

I took evening classes in Portuguese in the UK about 20 years ago and was reasonably proficient in a get by way. In those days you really needed to be able to speak the language here but it is really not the case today as more and more people speak English. I took lessons out here where I moved out in 2002 but the problem is if you are not working the average person simply does not get much opportunity to practice and you begin to forget what you have learned. I can read simple Portuguese and speak it with a reasonable accent at a basic level but if I am among Portuguese and they rattle away between one another most times I can only pick out a few words. It really puts things into perspective. If you are not working out here and speaking Portuguese on a daily basis to improve your understanding and vocabulary it is in my opinion a matter of being realistic about what you are going to achieve unless you are willing to devote many hours a week to studying the language. I doubt that many retired people have the practical incentive to do this.

[blue]

Exactly the problem I have, I have achieved a certain elementary level, I can ask for most things & read some but I'm immediately stumped as soon as anyone speaks Portuguese (especially Algarvean) to me, apart from the odd one I just cannot distinguish the individual words. Unless you work here or are more or less completely immersed in the Portuguese culture you have no need to use it on a daily basis & unfortunately I am the only one in our household who really wants to learn otherwise I would use it in the home as much as possible.

I have bought the Michel Thomas Method language course & am about to start on that, so if you see someone sitting outside a bar with a cd Walkman apparently talking to herself it will be me.

[superbocker]

Nice one Blue, I don't think you will be disappointed

[HampshireRich]

Exactly the problem I have, I have achieved a certain elementary level, I can ask for most things & read some but I'm immediately stumped as soon as anyone speaks Portuguese (especially Algarvean) to me, apart from the odd one I just cannot distinguish the individual words. Unless you work here or are more or less completely immersed in the Portuguese culture you have no need to use it on a daily basis & unfortunately I am the only one in our household who really wants to learn otherwise I would use it in the home as much as possible.

I have bought the Michel Thomas Method language course & am about to start on that, so if you see someone sitting outside a bar with a cd Walkman apparently talking to herself it will be me.

I guess, blue, that is no different to the UK - dialects are very difficult for us Brits to understand, never mind a foreigner - must be the same in Portugal. I understand from talking to people in CVO that the Algarvean speech is quite different to that of someone from Porto or Lisbon. Bit like here in Eastleigh where we speak the Queen's English perfectly and up in pato-land where they don't