Is it possible to learn Portuguese in four months?

Portuguese learning

I have already posted some articles about my Tinder method which I use for learning languages. I also tried to support you in learning foreign languages by explaining how it actually works when you start with a new language which is different from your mother tongue. So finally, there is time for sharing a bit more about my Portuguese acquisition and whether Tinder worked for me there.

The beginnings

When I was going to Madeira, I was supposed to stay there only for four months. I was arriving with almost no Portuguese. My level was maybe even lower than my Spanish when I did my first Erasmus. Despite of the mentioned fact, I decided that I will be going back home in January with a fluent level of Portuguese. My plan was to meet locals as much as possible, to get to know and experience their culture and speak in Portuguese since the first day.

My head was well organised. I told myself that I already knew how the language acquisition works and what the phases of learning a new language were (those I mentioned in the previous article), so I would not loose time by only listening, yet I would try to use those five words I knew since the first day.

That really happened! I went to a dormitory kitchen where many Portuguese and madeirenses were. I said: “Boa noite! Eu sou a Iva and I want to learn Portuguese! (Good evening! I am Iva and I want to learn Portuguese). ” Yes, as I was mixing English and Portuguese, many people thought I was crazy. However, there were some lovely people like Miss Mafalda and my “fofinhas” Mariana and Sabrina who started to talk to me and were really patient with my English-Portuguese. Even thanks to them I started to transform the way of speaking into Portuguese-English or even “Portunhol” (which is Portuguese mixed with Spanish).

Picture: Miss Mafalada, Mariana and Sabrina were one of my first teachers of Portuguese!

Does Tinder work in Madeira?

Anyway, back to my Tinder adventures! So, as soon as I reached my new accommodation in Madeira, I checked whether people from there use Couchsurfing. There were not really many people. So I downloaded another app for travellers, but as it was even less known than Couchsurfing, it showed me that the closest person with this app was hundreds of kilometers far away. Then, I remembered the “old and good” Tinder. I downloaded it and wrote information about myself on Tinder on my profile wall again.

Someone could admit that I was just using people because I wanted to have all advantages for myself (speaking in Spanish/Portuguese and not in Czech or English). Though, any time I went to meet someone, I wanted the person to have a good time with me. We shared travel stories, stories about our countries and so on.

Well, the second day in Madeira, I sat down on a grass and started to put everyone to the matching side. Soon I realised I should still choose who I would like to meet as you might find it difficult to find a topic for a good conversation with certain people.

First, I was receiving texts like: “Is this a Google translator? ” but when this happened I replied with all the calmness I had: “No, I just put some effort to learn your language. ” It showed me, who read my profile, at least. You know, it happened many times that when I started the chat conversation with someone and asked whether they had read my profile, so they know why I was using the app, they replied that they lost their interest. I did not take it anyhow personally and was happy in fact that everything was clear at least.

Picture: When someone starts talking to you in English (or a language which you know), relax and try to respond in the target language. It does not matter that it will take time.

When you start chatting

There is another piece of advice: when you get a match and start chatting, people might try to communicate with you in English because they know you want to start with their language but you cannot use it yet. So don’t respond in English! Push yourself and text them back in Portuguese/Spanish/Estonian/whatever other language.

Another tip is to check properly what messages they send you. I used to translate and tried to send it to someone else. That meant that I remembered faster the meaning and the spelling. Of course, I was not copying everything. Just some sentences like “How are you” and some possible responses. Do you understand?

If they do not know many languages, it is better!

When people told me that: “Yes, we could meet but I do not speak English much. ” I took it as an advantage. I knew it would be more difficult to have a conversation, but on the other hand it was necessary to do my best and to talk in the target language almost the whole time.

Once, I met a young man who was exactly like this. We met and the beginning was pretty awkward. it was difficult to speak and I have to say that I was even thinking of leaving. Luckily, I did not. I have to laugh now when I remember all of these things. So, I was outside with the gentleman and started to bumble something in “Portuguese”. I found it easier because when he started to talk, I understood every twentieth word. So I was always thinking of the story he was telling me! I explained that I did not really get the story, so he told me again and demonstrated with his hands. It was fun!

So did Tinder teach me Portuguese?

Yes, I learn a lot of Portuguese thanks to people I met via the app. This app is used quite frequently there. But I learnt also thanks to the different people I met.

After three months of learning I gave an interview to Madeira TV (which was live) in Portuguese. Truthfully, there was a part when I did not understand a question, but I just said I did not understand and the reporter repeated differently. It was also a good fun.

Picture: How happy I am I could learn Portuguese!

Last few words about the process

When I started to learn Portuguese (especially in the kitchen), Miss Mafalada from Braga kept saying: “But, Iva, when you speak, open the mouth! ”, and I replied with my mouth slightly opened: “But this is the way you speak. ” I tried to copy what I saw and what I heard. People from continental Portugal open the mouth more than Madeirenses. I thought that I had to keep my mouth quite closed to sound Portuguese, haha.

Take a risk! You know, it is also something the theory says. If you are not really sure about a meaning of a word, it does not matter too much if you talk just to a friend. Try to use words you hear in series, in streets and you have a tiny idea what the meaning could be. It happened to me as well that I used a word and expected what the reaction would be. As there was no odd reaction, I said: “Could you translate into English what is the thing I have just said? ”, and it was correct.

On the other hand, I used some words incorrectly a few times. Like: “You know, it is really cold in my country during the winter time, so I always wear a bra. ” And I kept repeating and repeating till the acquaintance mentioned that there was probably a different word I wanted to use. Yes, the word was a jumper (instead of the bra).

Once I even said (mostly by mistake) that I am fed up of spending my time with the person. It was nothing nice to say to a person who was treating me nicely. I just used an incorrect word again. So when we discussed what my actual thought was, we calmed down again.

Picture: When taking a risk you might feel like the dog in the picture (confused) and it can seem like trying to talk like a dog (impossible).

Is it worth it to learn languages?

When I was leaving Madeira (it was finally after eight months instead of those four), I was saying goodbye to those “fofinhas” mentioned above. Mariana said: “Iva, look at you. The first evening you arrived we could barely speak in Portuguese and now we have a conversation! ”. It is one of many warmest memories that Madeira gave me.

Learn languages, it is worth it!

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