Motivation when studying Português

Not the best motivation, but here it is - shame. I have been married to Portuguese man for many years now and due to that I have been asked if I speak Portuguese almost on a daily bases. It is embarassing every time to addmit that - no I do not speak his language. Even though we do not live in Portugal or Portuguese speaking country. Hope I will be able to stick to learning as this in not my first attempt.

3 Likes

I see what you are doing and continuing to try to do as an act of love.

2 Likes

It is very sweet of you to still make the effort to learn your husband’s language despite the above :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Hi Agnese. Your post reminds me of my own situation, also being married to a Portuguese person. You would think that having a Portuguese spouse is the ultimate learning resource, effectively practice on demand. However, in my case it doesnt quite work like that; although my spouse is really keen for me to learn and is pleased that im learning, whenever i try to speak to her in her mother tongue, a look of dread crawls over her face and she looks at me as if ive just announced that my hovercraft is full of eels; she does try to be a sport and play along but after 5 minutes it sort of flops out; she says its basically just too weird and prefers me in English! I wonder if other people have similar experiences when learning their partner’s language…

2 Likes

Bem-vindo, @matthew.feather! :slightly_smiling_face: Yes, a similar thing here! My spouse speaks Brazilian Portuguese. Although my spouse is more than willing to speak in Portuguese with me, after about 5 minutes or less, it just seems too effortful, and we revert back to English! I really think that the only way to learn the language is the “sink or swim” method: find a small town in Portugal where nobody speaks English! :nerd_face:

1 Like

Maybe, make it a formal occasion? Book 15 mins as lesson time per day. As you get better, the time slot can increase. Follow an agreed curriculum. When the time slot is up, lesson ends. And everyone can relax.

Yes, my partner is Portuguese and we now try for fixed times when we only speak Portuguese. I find that it is awkward at first, as if I am translating every word but as the conversation flows, my brain starts to sync into the language.

3 Likes