We are currently working on a lot of grammatical rules in Portuguese, such as being able to describe objects at certain distances, and other topics like telling time and how to express your habits. We are getting more into the nuances of Portuguese, which makes the lessons more and more of a challenge for me as a learner, but also for Leticia as a teacher. These topics are where our communication in English can become more confusing. We are definitely working on ensuring that we both understand what we’re trying to communicate to each other and most importantly, I understand the concept in the way that she wants me to. It’s interesting to watch her realize that a lot of the things that are a given for her do not make sense to me as an English speaker. It makes me realize how difficult it would be to explain certain rules of English, particularly when I have no idea why they are that way. However, I think it has been a good challenge for us and I think has truly pushed us to be a better teacher and learner, respectively. We have also taken some breaks to talk about more silly topics or interesting Brazilian cultural topics.
We have gotten very comfortable at this point in recognizing how much we can get done in a lesson for the day. I think we have also done a better job at having continuity between our lessons, even though they are only twice a week. I have had a lot more homework this semester, as I mentioned previously, which has required me to critically think about the topics we discussed during a previous session and then be more prepared going in to the next when we review the assignment. Leticia has also been amazing about pulling a topic out of the woodwork that we reviewed weeks ago and saying that we should review it. It definitely helps me in thinking back on topics as well as connecting them to the ones we’re learning currently.
As with any introductory language class, what we have been continuously building toward is me being able to describe my identity as well as my current surroundings and mood. It has been fun to be able to build that figurative paragraph in my head and be able to work on it every few sessions with Leticia to show our progress through so many topics in Portuguese. I can now say my name, where I’m from, how old I am, describe my status as a student, my habits, my likes and dislikes, where I am currently, what the time is, and more. It feels rewarding to be able to pull these phrases and vocabulary out to also try and connect them to the grammatical rules we are currently reviewing. Our lessons have become increasingly interconnected as we make progress and review more and more. It has been truly amazing to see how much we are able to do in just a school year with the two of us.
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