Find a professional Portuguese lesson in Brisbane

Portuguese lessons involve a tutor who can go to your home or office or one who can conduct online classes. Session lengths may vary depending on your budget, availability, and other needs. Your tutor may have their teaching methods, such as flashcards, written exams, oral exercises, and more. In general, here’s what you can expect your Portuguese tutor to cover: 

Portuguese pronunciation

This depends on whether you’d like to learn European Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese has open vowels, and Brazilian accents are lilting and have a strong cadence. This makes it easier to understand compared to European Portuguese. You’ll also need to familiarise yourself with silent letters, like the “f” in fazer (to do). 

Useful words and phrases

Your tutor then starts you off on useful phrases, which may vary depending on your learning motivations. These usually include “Bom dia” (Good morning), “Oi” (Hi), “Por favor” (Please), and “Não compreendo” (I don’t understand). Suppose you’ll be doing business in a Portuguese-speaking country. In that case, you’ll also need to learn terms like “fluxo de caixa” (cash flow), “juros” (interest cost of borrowed capital), and “mercadoria” (product). 

Other useful words and phrases that your tutor may cover include the Portuguese words for different food and parts of a house or community.

Verb conjugation and grammar

You’ll also need to learn Portuguese pronouns, verbs, and how to use each pronoun or verb conjugation properly. Take note that there is a designation between the formal “you” and the informal “you” in European Portuguese. Also, verb conjugations may vary between Brazilian and European Portuguese. Conjugations are quite tricky to get the hang of, so your tutor may remind you to practice.

Listening and reading exercises

Once you’ve gotten the hang of the basics, your tutor may give you listening and reading exercises to test your comprehension. It’s also helpful to explore using apps, listening to songs, or watching videos that use the Portuguese language. 

Written and oral exercises

If you can understand what you heard or read, you can move on to the next challenge: writing and speaking in Portuguese! Your tutor may have you write essays in Portuguese or converse with them. Some experts recommend starting talking or writing as early as possible since you can only really be considered fluent if you “produce” and “receive” in Portuguese.