language

adidasss · 06-06-2015, 10:42 AM

Fluent in English, trying to learn Spanish and speaking a crooked Portuguese.

The fastest progress I've had is obviously with the Portuguese, since very few people in this country speak English and you have to survive somehow. That makes you brain work extra hard. But I have to say I had the great fortune that my company was paying for private, one on one lessons with a teacher, which I had 2 times per week.

It's hard as hell but I am now very proud of the fact that I can understand most Portuguese and can communicate reasonably well.

I tried learning Spanish on my own (bought some books, read a lot of newspapers, my partner is Spanish and speaks to me half Spanish half English) and I am still not at the level where I would feel comfortable speaking it. The sole reasons being that I'm too embarrassed.

So I plan to find a Cervantes institute somewhere and SPEAK SPEAK SPEAK. And combine that with lessons in grammar. Too much grammar can be disheartening but as my teacher always says, repetition is the mother of learning and eventually, things will start seeping in without you noticing. But you DO have to do the work.

Learning a new language is NOT easy. Perseverance is the key.

Good luck.

06-06-2015, 10:42 AM	#15 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,945	Fluent in English, trying to learn Spanish and speaking a crooked Portuguese. The fastest progress I've had is obviously with the Portuguese, since very few people in this country speak English and you have to survive somehow. That makes you brain work extra hard. But I have to say I had the great fortune that my company was paying for private, one on one lessons with a teacher, which I had 2 times per week. It's hard as hell but I am now very proud of the fact that I can understand most Portuguese and can communicate reasonably well. I tried learning Spanish on my own (bought some books, read a lot of newspapers, my partner is Spanish and speaks to me half Spanish half English) and I am still not at the level where I would feel comfortable speaking it. The sole reasons being that I'm too embarrassed. So I plan to find a Cervantes institute somewhere and SPEAK SPEAK SPEAK. And combine that with lessons in grammar. Too much grammar can be disheartening but as my teacher always says, repetition is the mother of learning and eventually, things will start seeping in without you noticing. But you DO have to do the work. Learning a new language is NOT easy. Perseverance is the key. Good luck. __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm