Hi, everybody! How have you been?
Well, I was thinking the other day and I came to the conclusion that one of the most important things when you set out to do something new is to have attitude. I mean, not a nasty attitude towards anything but a very positive and proactive attitude.
You may tell me, “But Adir, Portuguese is so different from English, there are so many verb forms, tenses that are not used in English” and all that kind of talk. But I come from the school of hard knocks so I always think: if someone has done it, I can do it, too!
That takes a truckload of determination, patience, hard work and consistency. And let me tell you something: it feels awesome when things (language patterns) start falling into place and you see, in your head, how the language is built.
Each person learns differently and one thing you need to do is find out what’s your language learning style: visual, auditory, if you need to write things down (my style!), and so son. As soon as you know “how” you learn, you just need to find a good source of materials and be consistent in your study.
To sum it up, have a good attitude towards learning Portuguese because as my mom says, “Knowledge occupies no room”, meaning the more we know, the more there is to know. Isn’t that a great thought?
Take care and have a good one!
Comments:
Daniela:
Love this short post. Very inspirational and so true. When it comes to knowledge, sky is the limit.
Jennifer:
Muito obrigada for the encouragement! I look forward to the day when things start falling into place….
John Fotheringham:
Yes! While good materials and effective methods are certainly key, attitude is the foundation of successful language learning.
And while it is perfectly natural to compare and contrast one’s target and native language, try to avoid making value judgements about the two languages (e.g. “Man, this language is sooooo illogical!” or “Why is wine masculine and beer feminine?”). Languages are the way they are; why they are that way is an interesting question for historical and comparative linguists, but has little to do with language learning.
The same thing goes for culture. If you have negative feelings about a given country or culture, your brain will subconsciously inhibit your ability to learn its language.
Jennifer:
Nice, John….you gave me a little boost this week!