Good luck with the classes. I was fortunate to get a slot in one of three M/W evening classes here in my neighborhood of Porto. Many of the students are able to speak and understand Portuguese already, even in an A1 level class. Thankfully, our instructor takes pity on the few of us who cannot and offers some commentary in English. While the majority of class time is focused on a structured study of the language, we have had a smidge of culture interwoven into the program including background on some of the holidays, songs and poetry played in class, and a combined classes Magusto party with a dedicated chestnut roaster. As good as the program is, I need to supplement it with a robust self-study to build vocabulary and some level of listening comprehension and as scary as it seems, make a solid effort to speak Portuguese when I am out and about. We are truly blessed to have such encouragement from the Portuguese.
Thanks again for an informative post. I am again reminded of the Indian parable (no, not you Tonto) of the three blind men trying to describe an Elephant by touching different part of it. I don’t mean to throw shade on your detailed description of your experience, but like all things Portuguese, expat experiences vary wildly with this program. Here in the University city of Coimbra, let’s just say it makes me think you are truly blessed to be in the course that you are taking,. Boa Sorte!
Thanks for sharing this, Nancy. It needs to be told. Although, as Dante mentions below, depending upon where you're taking the class and who's teaching it, people have had a variety of reactions to the program. (Seems as though that holds true with many things here.) We took our Portuguese language class (A1 & A2) at a private, accredited school recognized by SEF for residency and citizenship purposes. Our class met only once a week and just for two hours per session. This was during the Covid crisis, when many classes -- public and private -- were first cancelled, then given online. We keep our certificates of completion (and our test grades) in a very secure spot!
Thank you for your always enlightening posts. I found the EU rationale excerpt to be spot-on, no matter what host country language is spoken. It demonstrates a great deal of empathy. Looking forward to hearing your progess!
This post gives me hope! I am struggling with the language and have anxiety about whether I can truly learn to speak with anyone, let alone carry on a conversation that involves anything more than random items on a grocery list. We've been determined to start formal classes after we arrive and the idea that we might be able to find free classes offered by the government is tremendous. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Krishna, we have a Portuguese friend who tells us "we don't expect you to have a conversation but we want you to be able to communicate." Though it would be lovely to be fluent our goal is just to be able to get our point across...even if it involves gestures.
That's reassuring to hear. I will be so grateful if I can reach the point where I can ask a grocer or butcher for an item I can't find or get into a cab and feel like I can, mostly, let them know where I need to go. Fluency would be terrific, but I'm going to be happy with gestures and some sense of being understood. :)
Hi Nancy, Great article as usual! We hope to enroll in a course in the beginning of 2024. We live in Foz do Douro and hopefully we can find a class nearby. A question on the translation of the word “great”. I thought “óptimo” was the Portuguese translation, not “ótimo”? Thanks again for your delightful and informative blogs!
The spelling «óptimo» was before a «thing» (it very, very it long to explain - and it is quite controversial, too... - I will not share my feelings about it) called «Novo Acordo Ortográfico» (new orthographic agreement) that brought some changes to the written language. One of them is the elimination of (some) mute consonants, which was the case of the «p» in «óptimo»... It became «ótimo».
The only «fun» thing is that english language speakers are expected to deal with gender in nouns... All nouns are (in portuguese) either "he" or "she".
[Thank God it's not German, with "he","she" or "it" - and "it" could be literally any nouns, animate or inanimate!]
So... «Our first class was Ótimo! (Great)» should be «Our first class was Ótima! (Great)», since «class» is «a aula», feminine.
[And believe us when we show/say that we feel happy and proud when foreigners speak portuguese. We are well aware of how hard it is. But you will do it!]
Good luck with the classes. I was fortunate to get a slot in one of three M/W evening classes here in my neighborhood of Porto. Many of the students are able to speak and understand Portuguese already, even in an A1 level class. Thankfully, our instructor takes pity on the few of us who cannot and offers some commentary in English. While the majority of class time is focused on a structured study of the language, we have had a smidge of culture interwoven into the program including background on some of the holidays, songs and poetry played in class, and a combined classes Magusto party with a dedicated chestnut roaster. As good as the program is, I need to supplement it with a robust self-study to build vocabulary and some level of listening comprehension and as scary as it seems, make a solid effort to speak Portuguese when I am out and about. We are truly blessed to have such encouragement from the Portuguese.
Our teacher encouraged us to speak 5 minutes each day.
What great experiences....glad you too are having a great experience.
Thanks again for an informative post. I am again reminded of the Indian parable (no, not you Tonto) of the three blind men trying to describe an Elephant by touching different part of it. I don’t mean to throw shade on your detailed description of your experience, but like all things Portuguese, expat experiences vary wildly with this program. Here in the University city of Coimbra, let’s just say it makes me think you are truly blessed to be in the course that you are taking,. Boa Sorte!
I agree. There are some Americans in town that attended the class 2 years ago and did not have the same experience. We are fortunate.
Thanks for sharing this, Nancy. It needs to be told. Although, as Dante mentions below, depending upon where you're taking the class and who's teaching it, people have had a variety of reactions to the program. (Seems as though that holds true with many things here.) We took our Portuguese language class (A1 & A2) at a private, accredited school recognized by SEF for residency and citizenship purposes. Our class met only once a week and just for two hours per session. This was during the Covid crisis, when many classes -- public and private -- were first cancelled, then given online. We keep our certificates of completion (and our test grades) in a very secure spot!
Thank you for your always enlightening posts. I found the EU rationale excerpt to be spot-on, no matter what host country language is spoken. It demonstrates a great deal of empathy. Looking forward to hearing your progess!
The challenge is the length of the course. 2 nights/week, entire school year with a limit on the number of classes you can miss.
Very helpful post as always! Thanks for sharing your experience, very much appreciated. I will check out these classes in Cascais, if offered..
Most excellent article. Can’t wait to get started.
Boa sorte na tua campanha de aprender portugues. Tens que ficar bem diligente ainda quando o aches impossível.
obrigada
This post gives me hope! I am struggling with the language and have anxiety about whether I can truly learn to speak with anyone, let alone carry on a conversation that involves anything more than random items on a grocery list. We've been determined to start formal classes after we arrive and the idea that we might be able to find free classes offered by the government is tremendous. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Krishna, we have a Portuguese friend who tells us "we don't expect you to have a conversation but we want you to be able to communicate." Though it would be lovely to be fluent our goal is just to be able to get our point across...even if it involves gestures.
That's reassuring to hear. I will be so grateful if I can reach the point where I can ask a grocer or butcher for an item I can't find or get into a cab and feel like I can, mostly, let them know where I need to go. Fluency would be terrific, but I'm going to be happy with gestures and some sense of being understood. :)
Hi Nancy, Great article as usual! We hope to enroll in a course in the beginning of 2024. We live in Foz do Douro and hopefully we can find a class nearby. A question on the translation of the word “great”. I thought “óptimo” was the Portuguese translation, not “ótimo”? Thanks again for your delightful and informative blogs!
Both spellings/words are correct.
The spelling «óptimo» was before a «thing» (it very, very it long to explain - and it is quite controversial, too... - I will not share my feelings about it) called «Novo Acordo Ortográfico» (new orthographic agreement) that brought some changes to the written language. One of them is the elimination of (some) mute consonants, which was the case of the «p» in «óptimo»... It became «ótimo».
The only «fun» thing is that english language speakers are expected to deal with gender in nouns... All nouns are (in portuguese) either "he" or "she".
[Thank God it's not German, with "he","she" or "it" - and "it" could be literally any nouns, animate or inanimate!]
So... «Our first class was Ótimo! (Great)» should be «Our first class was Ótima! (Great)», since «class» is «a aula», feminine.
[And believe us when we show/say that we feel happy and proud when foreigners speak portuguese. We are well aware of how hard it is. But you will do it!]
That was very helpful. Thanks!
Hi Marta,
I really appreciate your helpful and informative comments. I need all the tips from others in learning this beautiful language!!
The link is within the post https://lisboaacolhe.pt/__trashed/programa-portugues-para-todos/?lang=en