Conversation table in Faro/Olhao/Tavira

The Café Learning Strategies & Motivation
1

Good morning,

I would like to know if someone knows a place close to Faro, Olhao or Tavira where conversation tables in português are organized? I am learning portugese a bit by myself (with practise portuguese) but I also followed this year some classes at the university of Algarve. I can understand quiet well now but my main problem is to talk…and only practise can help. I am trying to do an effort to communicate in portuguese but in the Algarve everyone starts to answer back in english…or in french sometimes (my mother tongue). Ideally, i am looking for conversation table with portuguese or supervised by portugues (because otherwise nobody can correct us…).

Thank you verymuch for your tips and help!
Nathalie

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I’ve also found that in areas of Portugal where there are many English speakers, they will often answer back in English when addressed in Portuguese (or French, if that’s your mother tongue and they speak the language). To help combat this, initiate your conversation by telling them in Portuguese that you are learning Portuguese and need to practice. That has helped me in those situations.

Also, Portugal is not a big country, so traveling to other areas where English isn’t spoken is relatively easy. Make it a habit to do that: small villages inland, away from international tourist regions, with older people, etc. Then, you won’t have a choice: in order to communicate, you’ll need to practice your Portuguese! :grinning: We will be moving to a town in the north where many don’t speak English (but English is spoken in Braga and Porto not far away). Anyway, when there, that situation has helped me more in my conversational skills, and I’ve enjoyed the closer relationships that develop from that.

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Bom dia Nathalie e pedimos desculpa pelo atraso em responder, mas estivemos ausentes durante algumas semanas. Não conhecemos nenhuma “conversation tables” em Faro, mas moramos perto de Loulé e, se houver uma oportunidade, gostaríamos sempre de conversar durante uma ou duas horas em português - mesmo que seja com outra gringa!