The new term's evening classes are going well - confidence and hilarity growing in leaps and bounds as the group bonds through common interests and enthusiasm.
Our very first icebreakers are conducted immediately in the new language as everyone walks round the room meeting and greeting, introducing themselves to those students they do not know.
Como se chama? Chamo-me Mimi led to the opportunity of asking Mimi, chic, dark and oh-so-elegant, E francesa? (Are you French?) But no. Like the others, Mimi's answer was Sou inglesa. (I am English).
When talking to students who arrive as couples, we extend the language to make the "Are you....?" a plural verb. Sao (pronounced sow to rhyme with now but hold the tip of your nose to get the right nasal quality) ingleses? Are you English?
We also have in the class um espanhol e uma espanhola.
From here, it was a short step to adding other relevant nationalities: americano/americana. canadense, portugues/portuguesa, irlandes/irlandesa, alemao/alema, chines/chinesa, japones/japonesa.
Note how many are easily guessable. You then know you will understand these when listening and remember them well enough to be understood. Learn the others - if you think you may need them.
Think about patterns. Portuguese adjectives ending in o pronounced oo at the end of words, have a feminine form ending in a therefore um brasileiro would refer to a Brazilian man where a woman from Brazil would be uma brasileira.
These endings on their own are the singular words for the definite article. So, o tailandes is the man from Thailand, a tailandesa is the woman from Thailand (a tailanda).
Portuguese is notoriously difficult to pronounce. If you are working completely from the Internet, try to make use of sites like this for everyday greetings. The Travlang site is excellent if it loads - choose the relevant flag for Continental or Brazilian Portuguese. The Phonetics site always loads well for me and is also excellent for pronunciation exercises.
In group situations obviously it is much more fun. I defy anyone to feel shy after holding their tips nostrils closed with fingers and thumb while trying to communicate with new classmates.
In the initial stages of language learning, students soak up the language like expensively quilted kitchen towels. If you're working alongside us, try using the everyday phrases section from Brazilian Portuguese
As a motivational tool, we discuss the reasons for everyone learning Portuguese -a Portuguese ancestor, holidays, second or retirement homes, the prospect of new Brazilian in-laws-to-be.
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