Journal Post 1 - Spring 2025:
Recap: I’m studying Brazilian Portuguese from São Paulo. I’m doing this through study of vocabulary, listening, reading, conversation, and grammar. I study vocabulary through mnemonic devices, songs, and television. I pick up grammar concepts through context and flashcards I previously made for LAIS390 and review. I meet with my language partner twice a week, listen to Portuguese music, and read about Brazil/Mozambique/Angola as part of Dixon Abreu’s Building Brasilia CLAC and my HIST199: Changing South Africa Portuguese CLAC.
Not only do these CLACs include reading, but they also include speaking practice as there are readings due before class as well as readings we complete as a group in class.
Having largely finished the Baki series as well as Hazbin Hotel, I’ve been looking for a new show this semester and think I’ve found one in Invincible on Amazon Prime. Hence, the resources I use include Amazon Prime, DeepL, Spotify, Flashcards, Reddit, Kwai, and the Portuguese Memory Book.
The goal for this past month has been to get back into a routine of being regularly engaged in Portuguese and to think about my goals for the rest of the semester. The settings on my technology remain set to Portuguese but getting back on Kwai.com and making a point of watching shows in Portuguese rather than for pure entertainment has been an adjustment.
My goals for this semester can be broken down into two categories. The first is things I’m certain that I’m going to want to do in this SDLP and the second is directions I may like to take it depending on how the cards fall in my summer/fall plans.
Regarding the first category, I want to continue my daily engagement in the language, to prepare for my SSIR trip to Brasília, and to use the Cultural Post component of the SDLP to examine the broader Lusophone world outside of Brazil. Specifically, I’d like to investigate Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique as I’m in a history class this semester about South Africa. I think that makes for an excellent opportunity to learn about both countries in their relationship with South Africa providing synergies between my classes and a knowledgeable docent who can lead me down the right rabbit holes.
Jumping to the second category, I applied to CLS Brazil and have already made it past the first stage. I will find out in March whether or not I’ve won the scholarship and if so will be spending 10 weeks there this summer. Should that happen, I’ll then gear my studies after March towards preparing for the CLS and specifically its ACTFL language proficiency tests. While one doesn’t need to prepare for the examinations, knowing what to expect and testing myself should help me establish my baseline level and help me set goals for when I’m completing CLS. Another possibility is I join Dr. Salisbury heading to Brazil to work on indigenous rights issues this summer. Should this come to pass, the SDLP would provide me with a wonderful opportunity to get ahead on the aspects of the language I think will be most useful for this role. Another possibility is that I’m called in as a Portuguese tax site VITA translator. I talked about this first semester and will send them an email to see if they’ve had any interest in Portuguese tax translation services. Should that be an in-demand service, I would want to gear the SDLP towards enhancing my tax vocabulary knowledge ahead of tax day so that I can fill out a W2 or 1099 without much trouble with a native Portuguese speaker. A final possibility is I find myself going to PUC-Rio this Fall. I’ll find out this semester if that’s the case and if it is, that will change what and how I want to study Portuguese as part of this SDLP.
Reciprocal goals for this semester are numerous. I intend to continue providing intercultural knowledge transfer to both my language partner and significant other. I also am continuing as a volunteer teacher at Sacred Heart and use my Portuguese as needed in the classroom to help native Portuguese speakers understand instructions.
No particularly novel language learning ideas for this semester. I would, however, love to get in touch in some way with a Mozambiquan or Angolan Portuguese speaker. I don’t know if there’s any on the UR campus but getting lunch with someone from there would be an incredible opportunity to hear their Portuguese accents and make sure that what I’m picking up from the internet about these countries as I complete this SDLP is accurate.
My motivation is high. I’m wary of setting hyperspecific time goals or book completion objectives as I want to go with the flow of my own time constraints and motivation (especially considering all of the possibilities mentioned above for how I could find myself in Brazil in the near future). I do want to commit, however, to those first-category goals.
Overall I’m excited for the new semester and hope that some of the category 2 goals I mentioned come to fruition as I think that will provide a significant motivation boost and an amazing opportunity to take what I’m learning this semester in SDLP and use it this summer/next semester.
Recap: I’m studying Brazilian Portuguese from São Paulo. I’m doing this through study of vocabulary, listening, reading, conversation, and grammar. I study vocabulary through mnemonic devices, songs, and television. I pick up grammar concepts through context and flashcards I previously made for LAIS390 and review. I meet with my language partner twice a week, listen to Portuguese music, and read about Brazil/Mozambique/Angola as part of Dixon Abreu’s Building Brasilia CLAC and my HIST199: Changing South Africa Portuguese CLAC.
Not only do these CLACs include reading, but they also include speaking practice as there are readings due before class as well as readings we complete as a group in class.
Having largely finished the Baki series as well as Hazbin Hotel, I’ve been looking for a new show this semester and think I’ve found one in Invincible on Amazon Prime. Hence, the resources I use include Amazon Prime, DeepL, Spotify, Flashcards, Reddit, Kwai, and the Portuguese Memory Book.
The goal for this past month has been to get back into a routine of being regularly engaged in Portuguese and to think about my goals for the rest of the semester. The settings on my technology remain set to Portuguese but getting back on Kwai.com and making a point of watching shows in Portuguese rather than for pure entertainment has been an adjustment.
My goals for this semester can be broken down into two categories. The first is things I’m certain that I’m going to want to do in this SDLP and the second is directions I may like to take it depending on how the cards fall in my summer/fall plans.
Regarding the first category, I want to continue my daily engagement in the language, to prepare for my SSIR trip to Brasília, and to use the Cultural Post component of the SDLP to examine the broader Lusophone world outside of Brazil. Specifically, I’d like to investigate Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique as I’m in a history class this semester about South Africa. I think that makes for an excellent opportunity to learn about both countries in their relationship with South Africa providing synergies between my classes and a knowledgeable docent who can lead me down the right rabbit holes.
Jumping to the second category, I applied to CLS Brazil and have already made it past the first stage. I will find out in March whether or not I’ve won the scholarship and if so will be spending 10 weeks there this summer. Should that happen, I’ll then gear my studies after March towards preparing for the CLS and specifically its ACTFL language proficiency tests. While one doesn’t need to prepare for the examinations, knowing what to expect and testing myself should help me establish my baseline level and help me set goals for when I’m completing CLS. Another possibility is I join Dr. Salisbury heading to Brazil to work on indigenous rights issues this summer. Should this come to pass, the SDLP would provide me with a wonderful opportunity to get ahead on the aspects of the language I think will be most useful for this role. Another possibility is that I’m called in as a Portuguese tax site VITA translator. I talked about this first semester and will send them an email to see if they’ve had any interest in Portuguese tax translation services. Should that be an in-demand service, I would want to gear the SDLP towards enhancing my tax vocabulary knowledge ahead of tax day so that I can fill out a W2 or 1099 without much trouble with a native Portuguese speaker. A final possibility is I find myself going to PUC-Rio this Fall. I’ll find out this semester if that’s the case and if it is, that will change what and how I want to study Portuguese as part of this SDLP.
Reciprocal goals for this semester are numerous. I intend to continue providing intercultural knowledge transfer to both my language partner and significant other. I also am continuing as a volunteer teacher at Sacred Heart and use my Portuguese as needed in the classroom to help native Portuguese speakers understand instructions.
No particularly novel language learning ideas for this semester. I would, however, love to get in touch in some way with a Mozambiquan or Angolan Portuguese speaker. I don’t know if there’s any on the UR campus but getting lunch with someone from there would be an incredible opportunity to hear their Portuguese accents and make sure that what I’m picking up from the internet about these countries as I complete this SDLP is accurate.
My motivation is high. I’m wary of setting hyperspecific time goals or book completion objectives as I want to go with the flow of my own time constraints and motivation (especially considering all of the possibilities mentioned above for how I could find myself in Brazil in the near future). I do want to commit, however, to those first-category goals.
Overall I’m excited for the new semester and hope that some of the category 2 goals I mentioned come to fruition as I think that will provide a significant motivation boost and an amazing opportunity to take what I’m learning this semester in SDLP and use it this summer/next semester.
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