Learning english!

[Fofochinho73 8]

Hello all,

I am getting ready to send my initial packet for our K-1 step in the journey. I lived in Brazil for two years where I met my fiancé. I speak fluent Portuguese and she is attempting to learn English as quickly as possible. I am looking for any suggestions on how I can effectively help her in the process. I have been researching Rosetta Stone and it seems to be good but really expensive. I have her listening to lots of American music and watching all sorts of movies in English with subtitles in Portuguese. I really want her to have a good base before arriving.

Secondly, what kinds of jobs could I look into for her when she arrives here. She is very educated and a very quick learner. She is also a great typist. Any suggestions as far as jobs go?!

VJ rocks and I am excited to start the journey with y'all! Thanks!

[menina 50]

Hello all,

I am getting ready to send my initial packet for our K-1 step in the journey. I lived in Brazil for two years where I met my fiancé. I speak fluent Portuguese and she is attempting to learn English as quickly as possible. I am looking for any suggestions on how I can effectively help her in the process. I have been researching Rosetta Stone and it seems to be good but really expensive. I have her listening to lots of American music and watching all sorts of movies in English with subtitles in Portuguese. I really want her to have a good base before arriving.

Secondly, what kinds of jobs could I look into for her when she arrives here. She is very educated and a very quick learner. She is also a great typist. Any suggestions as far as jobs go?!

VJ rocks and I am excited to start the journey with y'all! Thanks!

My husband came here with very little English. I am also fluent in Portuguese, so our communication was no problem. I bought him Rosetta Stone which has been really helpful. The music and TV thing is also a good idea. He has been enrolled in English classes for several months since arriving which has helped immensely. The main thing is to try and use English as much as possible. If she knows ANYONE who speaks English, have her practice what she has learned so far. And you can have simple conversations with her in English via email or Skype. As far as jobs, my husband is just focusing on the language right now, and then we will look at him getting a job. Good luck to you! One more thing about jobs. She won't be able to work until she gets her EAD (work authorization). From the time you file, it takes about 2-3 months (for us at least). Once she can work, maybe something like a nanny job where she can practice her English with children. That is a good way to learn. Depending on how much English she has, look for places where she can be talking to a variety of people in order to learn faster.

Edited September 13, 2010 by menina

[loverzinha 0]

If you are just starting you K1 visa process, that means you got a few months before she moves. I think the best way to learn while in Brazil is to take English classes at a school. A lot of schools offer intensive courses. Or maybe get a private tutor, I know it sounds expensive but in Brazil it's not as bad, you can find someone for around R$20 an hour. Other than that I think you are on the right path, songs and movies are great ways of learning.

[Carolina+James 1]

On the jobs, see if your area has any jobs that require a person fluent in portuguese. I tried here, but there were none, though I saw many in other states. It might be something she feels safe as a first job, since she is not fluent in english already.

Skype is something that helped me feel safe, since I could practice while far away from my husband. As for TV and movies, "Friends" have a quite easy vocabulary for people that are learning, and the stories are simple enough for trials without the subtitles. If she likes it, you could ask her to watch an episode she has seen already again, but without subtitles.

I do recommend a school/tutor for someone starting though, since they can correct better then a computer, and they will know what are the typical "brazilian mistakes" and where to focus.

[sorchaine 10]

Response from my fiancé:

I'd say all the replies above are very good and I can repeat the same tips, they indeed work.

I'm Brazilian and studied English besides the school/high school in English courses like Yázigi (which I think is a very good one, they have intensive classes, focused for people that will travel or focused on conversation). I remember it was a bit expensive I must admit, but that was back in the 90s.

After years without studying English, I had poor grammar and terrible conversation. I got some extra credit courses at the university and I can remember the first tips my teacher gave me in that time were:

- Listen to a lot of music in English, choose your favorite band, listen to those, you can read the lyrics (not translated) and try to keep listening to the album. Music works.

- Movies / Shows: Even 1 year ago, in some movies I would need to put English subtitles just to make sure I would know what was going on, but in a few months I didn't need anymore subtitles in English at all. By the way, I'm addicted to American television shows, like The Office and others.

- Talk with people that speak English, even if it can be hard at the beginning go ahead and try it.

In my case, I would assume what helped me get back to a better English was playing online games (World of Warcraft mainly, where by the way I met my fiancée). Talking through Ventrilo (similar software to Skype but designed for gamers where like 10 or more people can talk at the same time, was a bit challenging at the beginning, but helped me a lot.

- Rosetta Stone: I just bought the 5 levels of American English for my mother, as she wants to learn English and I gave it a try, basically the full level 1 and the majority of the level 5 (to test the differences) and yes, the software is amazing. At first I thought that was a "BS" software, but after doing all those lessons and training her how to use the software and watching her do the first lessons, it was just impressive. It was worth the price. I didn't like the companion thing much, some people do like it, to have on their iPods or any MP3 players. Doing the Rosetta Stone Full Year Curriculum, by their estimated time, if the person spends about 4 hours a day, I would say it can be finished in about 30-45 days. I might be wrong... I'm terrible at math.

So yes, music, movies, and shows (Portuguese subtitles, English subtitles, no subtitles). Trying to talk in English as often as possible, even if the vocabulary is still small and the software Rosetta Stone would be a good help! About English courses, they vary about how much the person would be willing to spend and I have no idea how much a good English School would cost nowadays.

[Carolina+James 1]

In my case, I would assume what helped me get back to a better English was playing online games (World of Warcraft mainly, where by the way I met my fiancée). Talking through Ventrilo (similar software to Skype but designed for gamers where like 10 or more people can talk at the same time, was a bit challenging at the beginning, but helped me a lot.

SAME story here

Of course, we end up knowing all these weapon names and spells before we know how to call our own furniture

Ventrilo to talk to other players from all over the country was amazing, to meet all the different accents without the embarrassment to be face to face and not understand nothing at first!

So...

The english subtitle idea is awesome, as mentioned above.

[menina 50]

My husband also spent some time with a course called Wizard. I have heard it is very good and available in Brasil. It is a private school/course with small classes.

[Fofochinho73 8]

Thanks for all the suggestions and please keep them coming! I am looking for a good priced Rosetta Stone and am going to talk to her sister's husband who is a gringo living down there right now to see if he can offer some lessons. It is a hard language to learn, but I know she'll get it in time. Speaking of time, how long did it take y'all (or your spouse) to not feel totally lost. I know when I learned Portuguese I was speaking without thinking at six months, with many grammatical errors which got better over time.