Learning Journal 15: Summarize your work this semester, the progress you made and the difficulties you encountered.

Looking back through the Portuguese journal I keep throughout the semester, I have learned so many new words and phrases. I was also able to learn 5 different verb tenses. Overall, I learned a lot about Brazilian (and Portuguese) culture and the language in general. One of the main difficulties I encountered was pronunciation. Even now at the end of the semester, there are many sounds I struggle with (especially nasal sounds). Nonetheless, I have become more comfortable with Portuguese sounds and I like to think that even though my pronunciation is far from perfect people might be able to tell what I am trying to say. While studying there were many questions and topic that I would have liked to investigate more in depth but I did not have the time. In the future, I will like to continue exploring Portuguese in a more informal context. Rather than studying grammar, I would like to continue exposure through media (music and shows), which I hope allows me to continue learning or at least not lose everything I have learned. 

Learning Journal 14: Summarize your work this semester, the progress you made and the difficulties you encountered.

Goals: Imperative, traveling vocabulary

This week I will finish my study of the Imperative tense using more Babble lessons and exercises. Furthermore, I will like to end my study plan on a happy note learning vocabulary on traveling. I will use Babble lessons as well as Brazilian travel blogs for this vocabulary topic. After I document new vocabulary on my Portuguese journal, I will have a second review of material from past weeks to assess my progress.

Learning Journal 13: State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

Goals: Imperative and Media

This week I will start working on my last verb tense, imperative. Babble lessons and practice exercises have been very helpful tools to learn verb conjugations and so I will continue to use them for my last verb tense. I will also be learning media vocabulary. For this topic I want to do some research to see what people have to say about Brazilian media (e.g. music, TV shows, etc) and compare it to my own impression of the things I have encountered so far. 

I will use my meeting with my language parter to ask some questions regarding some cultural aspects of Brazil and the Portuguese language. I want to ask these questions as a guide for my cultural presentation. 

Learning Journal 12: State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

Goals: Future, technology, and work

This week I will finish working with future tense conjugations. I will be doing my last review using Babble and and some handouts I found online that include present, past, and future tense in Portuguese. I will also review technology and work vocabulary using Babble lessons and document new vocabulary in my Portuguese journal. 

I plan to review propositions and accompanying words used in Portuguese with my language partner. 

Learning Journal 11

Goals: Future, life stages: adulthood and old age

This week I will start working on future tense conjugations. I have encountered a few examples of future tense through music and reading but I will be formally reviewing conjugation rules for future tense. Furthermore, I am to continue with my study of vocabulary for life stages. This week I am reviewing adulthood and old age. As usual, I will be using Babble lessons to practice and document new vocabulary in my Portuguese journal. I would also like to find time to go back through my journal and review material from past weeks.

This week I want to discuss media culture with my language partner, especially music. I will also like to discuss any questions I might find while reviewing material from past weeks. 

Learning Journal 10: State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

Goals: Imperfect, life: childhood and Adolescence

This week I will continue to work with Imperfect conjugations and I will use Babble exercises for practice. I will also be learning vocabulary to describe stages of life. This week I will be working on childhood and adolescence and next week I will work on adulthood and old age. I will also use Babble lessons to practice vocabulary and review words using my journal. 

Following last week's topic of idioms, I will be discussing the cultural meaning of idioms used in Brazil with my language partner. 

Learning Journal 9: State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

Goals: Preterite vs Imperfect, Idioms, and weather

This week I will be doing practice exercises for determining when to use preterite as opposed to the imperfect verb conjugation. I found some exercises online which I think could be a useful. Furthermore, I will be learning vocabulary to describe weather. For this I will use Babble lessons. Lastly I want to study spend some time studying Portuguese idioms. I have found some videos and websites that talk about idioms. As usual, I will document new learnings in my journal for review. 

This week I will also be working on learning how to make nouns plural when they have ending nasal sounds. These rules are confusing to me, and so I will be reviewing them with my language partner. 

Learning Journal 8: State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

Goal: Preterite and Clothes

This week I will be learning to conjugate verbs to the preterite. I will also start learning clothes vocabulary. I want to learn the different words to describe clothing items and maybe a few phrases that I could use when shopping for clothes. I will also be learning to conjugate verbs to the preterite. I have realized that my word bank for words is very limited. I found an online list of 'useful Portuguese verbs', which I plan to review to increase the number of verbs I know. I will follow Babble lessons and review new words and concepts in my journal. This week I also want to practice reading children's books with my language partner to work on my reading and pronunciation of sounds. 

Learning Journal 7: Reflect upon your progress to date, consider the effectiveness of your learning plan and activities, and discuss what changes--if any--you will make to finish the semester.

So far I have been following through with my initial study plan. The only things that has not gone as anticipated is the study of sounds. Mastering sounds and identifying patterns of pronunciation while reading is takin longer than I thought I would. This could be a setback for speaking and so I want incorporate more oral practicing of sounds. This might push a few of the items on my learning plan for later. I have realized I could use more exposure to the language to be able to become more familiar with Portuguese sounds and so I have created a music playlist in Portuguese and have made an effort to watch TV in Portuguese. Overall, I think there is a chance I will not get to the last few items in my study plan by the end of April but I think I can still follow it even if I fall a little behind. 

Learning Journal 6: State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

Goals: Present tense, sounds, body parts

I would have liked to start working on present tense last week but sounds have been taking longer than I had originally anticipated. Therefore, this week I am starting to learn how to conjugate verbs in the present tense. Furthermore, I want to keep practicing sounds, which still need a lot of work. Lastly, I want I will be learning vocabulary for body parts.

As I have been doing, I will use Babble lessons to practice conjugations and body parts vocabulary. I will then add the new words to my journal for review and practice. I will also start writing down any questions I have during the week, to ask my language partner when we meet. This week I want to discuss any questions I might have regarding this week's study and continue practicing sounds with my language partner. 

Learning Journal 5: an assessment of how well you met your learning goals for weeks 4 and 5.

Week 4-5 goals: Sounds, family vocabulary, food vocabulary

Learning new vocabulary goals was simple enough as many of the words were very similar to words used in Spanish (especially for the family vocabulary). The real challenge this week has been learning sounds. There were some sounds that I was not able to master and I need more practice predicting sounds in Portuguese words. Nasal sounds and 'r' sounds are the most challenging for me. Furthermore, some letters have different sounds depending on their placement in the words and the letters surrounding them. For example in the word 'interesante', the first t is pronounced pretty much like in English, but the second t is pronounced more like "ch" due to its placement towards the end of the word.  

Learning Journal 4: Document (a) your goals and tasks for weeks 4 and 5, (b) the resources and activities you will use to achieve your goals, and (c) how you will evaluate your success.

Goals: Sounds, family, food

These two weeks I will be working on my Portuguese sounds. I have noticed Portuguese has many sounds that do not exist in English and so I anticipate mastering a lot of these sounds will be difficult. I found a Youtube video that describes the sounds each letter makes in Portuguese, which I will be using to practice. I also plan to practice with my language partner. 

Regarding vocabulary I will be studying words for describing family (week 4) and words for describing food (week 5). I will be using Babble lessons to practice and will document new words in my journal. Babble gives you a score at the end of each lesson, which I will use to evaluate my success. 

Learning Journal 3: State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

Goal: Numbers and Colors

This week I am learning numbers and colors. Babble has lessons on both topics, which I have been completing. These lessons normally have matching exercises and spelling practice. I included a list of the words I learned throughout the week and I have been reviewing them. I found that counting in Portuguese while at the gym is a good distraction (I do not like working out, so distractions are good)  and so now instead of keeping track of number and time in English, I use my Portuguese numbers at the gym.

Learning Journal 2: In addition to discussing the resources (see above), outline how you have begun to work on your first language tasks

I decided to begin by learning simple common phrases like greetings and introducing myself. I am creating a list of 'useful phrases' which are phrases that I think I would use the most. I have Benn using Babble and youtube videos to help me with pronunciation as well as the context in which certain words or greetings (formal/ informal) are normally used. I am keeping a journal where I write what the things I learn every week so I can keep track of my progress and use it as reference. 

Artifact 4: Translate a song

Song: Era uma vez

Portuguese Lyrics

O dia em que todo dia era bom
Delicioso gosto e o bom gosto das nuvens
Serem feitas de algodão
Dava pra ser herói no mesmo dia
Em que escolhia ser vilão
E acabava tudo em lanche
Um banho quente e talvez um arranhão
Dava pra ver, a ingenuidade a inocência
Cantando no tom
Milhões de mundos e os universos tão reais
Quanto a nossa imaginação
Bastava um colo, um carinho
E o remédio era beijo e proteção
Tudo voltava a ser novo no outro dia
Sem muita preocupação
 
É que a gente quer crescer
E quando cresce quer voltar do início
Porque um joelho ralado
Dói bem menos que um coração partido
É que a gente quer crescer
E quando cresce quer voltar do início
Porque um joelho ralado
Dói bem menos que um coração partido
 
Dá pra viver
Mesmo depois de descobrir que o mundo ficou mau
É só não permitir que a maldade do mundo
Te pareça normal
Pra não perder a magia de acreditar na felicidade real
E entender que ela mora no caminho e não no final
É que a gente quer crescer
E quando cresce quer voltar do início
Porque um joelho ralado
Dói bem menos que um coração partido
É que a gente quer crescer
E quando cresce quer voltar do início
Porque um joelho ralado
Dói bem menos que um coração partido

English Lyrics

Once Upon a time/There was once
The day when everyday/ the whole day (not sure which) was good
Delicious taste and the good taste of the clouds
Being made of cotton
Would work being a hero on the same day
That I would chose to be a villain
And it ended it all up for lunch
A hot bath and maybe a scratch
You would see, the ingenuousness of innocence
Singing in the tone
Millions of worlds and universes so real
As for our imagination
Just a lap, a caress
And the medicine was a kiss and protection
Everything would turn to be new again the next day
Without much concern
 
We just want to grow up
And when you grow up, you want to go from the beginning
Because a grated knee
Hurts much less than a broken heart
We just want to grow up
And when you grow up, you want to go from the beginning.
Because a grated knee
Hurts much less than a broken heart
 
Come to live
Even after finding out that the world turned bad
Just do not let the wickedness of the world
Seem normal to you
To not lose the magic of believing in real happiness
And to understand that she lives on the way and not at end
We just want to grow up
And when you grow up, you want to go from the beginning.
Because a grated knee
Hurts much less than a broken heart
We just want to grow up
And when you grow up, you want to go from the beginning.
Because a grated knee
It hurts much less than a broken heart.

Third Artifact:  Introducing myself and my family

Meu nome é Jocelyne. Eu sou do Texas mas estudo na Virgínia. Eu frequento a Universidade de Richmond e eu estudo ciência política. Eu gosto de pizza e ouvir música.

O nome da minha mãe é Diana. Ela gosta de ler e assistir filmes.
Ela não gosta de cozinhar, mas gosta de ir a restaurantes comigo

O nome do meu pai é Oscar. Ele é muito engraçado e gosta de fazer piadas. Ele acha que o português parece engraçado.

O nome do meu irmão é Armando. Ele tem 15 anos. Ele gosta de desenhar e jogar futebol. Nosso passatempo favorito é assistir filmes

Second Artifact:  Show that you can ask and answer questions about identity

Elevator Pitch in Portuguese

Ola, meu nome é Jocelyne Rodriguez. Eu sou um estudante na Universidade de Richmond. Eu estudo ciência política e antropologia. Estou interessada em pesquisas políticas e culturais sobre a América Latina. Eu tomei várias aulas sobre este tema. Além disso, falo espanhol e estou estudando português. Você pode entrar em contato comigo se souber de algum estágio de pesquisa?

Jocelyne Rodriguez

Eighth Cultural Post:  Reflect upon what you have learned from the cultural projects presented in class.

There were four main points I learned from my cultural presentation. First, I learned that languages evolve and there can be more than one culture influencing this evolution. Through my presentation I explored the evolution of Portuguese from Latin to Galician-Portuguese to the current Portuguese spoken in the different Portuguese-speaking countries. Furthermore, I learned that there can be more than one perspective reflected in a language. For example, Portuguese reflects the perspectives of African, South American, and European perspectives. Third, I learned that learning a language requires cultural awareness. Cultural awareness is essential in determining the proper use of words and the context in which the different words are normally used. Understanding the culture behind a language can strengthen your knowledge about the language itself. Lastly, I learned that languages are more than just a form of communication but also a form of expression and even a political medium as seen with the Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement to improve international standing of the language and Galicia’s decision not to join.

Jocelyne Rodriguez

Seventh Cultural Post:  Attitudes about Family in the Target Culture

The main difference in attitudes about family between English and Portuguese is found in the way people speak of their in-laws. For example, Portuguese has uses words like ‘cunhada’ (sister in law), ‘genro’ (son-in-law), sogra (mother-in-law). You do not find the ‘in-law’ clause within the words used in Portuguese, meaning they are used even when there is no formal ‘in-law’ relation. For example I can refer to my brother’s girlfriend as ‘cunhada’ (sister in law) even if they are not married.
Another difference is found within the gender of the words used to describe relatives. For example, while in English there is one word to describe both female and male cousins, in Portuguese there are different words for ‘cousin’ that specify gender. The word for a male cousin is ‘primo’, while the word to describe a female cousin is ‘prima’.

Jocelyne Rodriguez

Sixth Cultural Post:  Attitudes about Time in the Target Culture

Portuguese and English have very similar forms of talking about time. Their concept of time, however, varies slightly. English, or at least American culture, places a greater emphasis on punctuality. For English, time is set. Meanwhile, for Portuguese, time is more flexible. Exactitude regarding time is not necessary and it is acceptable to be a little late for informal gatherings. In formal environments like work, attitudes towards time vary a little since some continue to use this flexible attitude towards time and others change their attitude to be closer to the one we experience in the US to emphasize time efficiency.