Learning Portuguese the European way

When in Rome do as the Romans do! 

No you haven't landed on the wrong page. this is all about how to learn Portuguese. It’s a saying I’m using to open my mind to Learning Portuguese when I’m in Portugal.

You maybe surprised to know that within the Algarve and tourist areas most expats who live in Portugal do not speak the language. Shocking as it is, there is a good reason,  although, tut tut, not an excuse. 

People working in bars, cafes, restaurants, hotels and other places offering a service within the Algarve or tourist areas, speak excellent English some even speak more than two languages, often speaking French and German too so Expats can be forgiven for not making an effort.   but when in Rome is all I’m saying.

 I myself am guilty of not been able to speak Portuguese so I decided this needed to change.  Learning the language can only enhance the experience of visiting a country, plus you get to learn a new language!  

So how to go about learning Portuguese? 

Some people can just jump into the deep end, move to a country and pick up the language with ease whilst others need a helping hand. I admit to be the later. I started my learning journey asking what things were when I was out in Portugal. Mainly at the cafe my partner and I frequent. It’s a good source of learning but I soon discovered it was confusing as some would say a word one way whilst another would say it another way.  

I decided to download some Portuguese apps.

Many tutors will say don’t use an app because it isn’t real learning. I don’t agree. Apps are a great way to begin your learning journey. They start you off slowly with the basics to get you by, and if used correctly, on a daily basis, they unlock more words and more in depth learning. I use my apps every day and wouldn’t be without them.

There’s many apps you can download to get your juices flowing. I use Lengo, Google Translate and a recently recommended app called Reverso. These apps are free and when used daily, unlock more words to learn and even get you to spell things in Portuguese. You can also write sentences in English and have it translate and pronounce in Portuguese. I also use the Linguee dictionary app too but LENGO is my main go to. Five minutes here five minutes there, learning a new word or learning how to pronounce something. I’ve been through a lot of apps and this works for  me. 

You do however need more than apps to ensure you are putting your learning to good use and to ensure you are learning correctly. Mistakes can be made even on an app, so using different platforms can ferment correct learning. 

It’s worth noting there’s European Portuguese🇵🇹 or Brazilian Portuguese 🇧🇷. My learning is European Portuguese.  Make sure your app is in accordance to your desired learning which is often represented by the flag.

Ok, so now you’ve dabbled with a few apps and you’ve learnt some words and you want to take it further, there’s many other avenues to go down. There’s online courses where you buy the course and study in your own time. I’ve bought an online course it’s very basic but It’s actually helped with my learning strategy; how to take notes, how to remember words, etc. I generally do an hours worth of study then use half an hour to create a revision sheet which I will answer and correct the next day, before moving on to more learning. I also create a cheat sheet to help me revise at a glance. The benefits of an online course is for one you can do at your own pace. These courses have audio too so you get to playback until you sound like a pro.

So what next.

You are working on your own with the apps and online courses. You’ve dipped your toes in the water and now you want to come out and shine! It’s a definite to book a class that you actually go to. It’s a whole new ball game. The learning is more intense, more real. It’s a step further to your dream of speaking another language. Your tutor will tell you that even learning in class won’t be enough if you don’t use your learning outside of the classroom.