The main difficulty for Brazilians who want to learn the language is shame when practicing it, teachers say
As a child, one of my favorite moments of the day Enrico Migotto it was time to play Yu-Gi-Oh! and exchanging repeated letters with friends after the “duels”. The only problem was that some came with an English description. “In order to read, I compared the cards. Over time I began to understand what those words meant,” he recalls. It was thus, through a card game, that Sanpaolo began to come into contact with the language.
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The strategy of learning while having fun started with the Japanese franchise and continued with online games and YouTube videos. “I played around with voice chat, talking to people outside, and eventually learned the slang, their way of speaking. Then I went to YouTube, saw that there was a lot of content that I couldn’t reach and got used to the pronunciation,” he explains.
“There came a time when I understood the way the Indians spoke [em inglês]Australian, British, different types of accents from different people around the world,” he adds. Today, at 25, he looks back on the learning process that began with his interest in franchising Yu-Gi-Oh! it is put into practice by Migotto every day. This is because the Sao Paulo native is a software developer and English is the language used in programming languages.
However, not all Brazilians have this “luck” and facility with English. According to the EF Education First institution, Brazil ranks 60th in the English proficiency ranking, behind neighboring countries such as Argentina and Chile.
On the other hand, survey data Learning English in Brazilfrom the Data Popular Institute to the British Council, they prove it 91% of business leaders in 77 countries believe that English is the dominant language in business.
To understand Brazilians’ difficulty with the language, the Earth I spoke to those who deal with language students every day. The teachers Pethala small AND Anna Isabella Battista They also provided practical suggestions to aid learning.
Everyone has already started from scratch
Seeing a friend or a Brazilian artist speak English so confidently and fluently can be inspiring, but it’s also normal for the question to arise: “Can I speak that well?”. When this type of thought appears, it is important to remember it Teachers also had to go through the learning process.
If Péthala Pequeno teaches English today, it is because he was curious to learn a lot before choosing English as a career. In his case there was also a little help from his family.
“My father is an interpreter and I always heard him speak English at home and at work. I really enjoyed it and tried really hard to understand what he was saying. So my first practice was with the skill we call ‘I listen‘ (aural comprehension of the language), even when I didn’t even know I was already practicing it,” he recalls.
Born in Campo Formoso, in the hinterland of Bahia, she found a way to progress in her learning even without enrolling in traditional English courses. “Since there are not many courses available in my city, a lot of my learning took place in practice. My greatest allies were music, films and series. I learned while having fun, but the practice is continuous”, he underlines.
Art was also responsible for teacher Ana Isabella Baptista’s beginnings in English. Passionate about international music and fascinated by the music videos that were broadcast on television, she was able to reproduce the sounds of words even without noticing the translations. “Seeing that I was at ease, my parents put me in a private English course to stimulate me, I had this privilege,” he claims.
For Ana Isabelle, Forming a support network that encourages you to continue learning is essential. “It’s very important! Many times we end up giving up, becoming a little discouraged, because we have some difficulties at the beginning. It’s completely natural,” he emphasizes.
Both were so involved in their passion for the language that they guaranteed to keep English in their lives forever. Péthala initially thought of becoming an interpreter, like his father, but fell in love with teaching. “Helping people get to new places and seeing them develop new skills is incredible,” he points out.
Ana Isabelle took advantage of an opportunity offered by her language course: “I had the possibility to extend the course after the advanced level for more than two years and obtain a degree to be able to teach English. I really enjoyed having this contact with English, so I thought maybe it would be a way to ensure the continuity of this contact,” he recalls.
Paralyzing shame
After years of working as English teachers, Péthala and Ana Isabelle have no doubts when it comes to applying the biggest “bad” of fluency: shame. “People have a hard time overcoming this barrier because they think they will be judged, that the teacher will hear a wrong word or pronunciation and laugh. It’s absolutely the opposite,” Ana underlines.
When learning, it is important to always be aware of this mistakes are natural and that there is no way to “get rid of” it overnight, neither in grammar nor in pronunciation. Just remember that foreigner who tried to speak Portuguese with difficulty, but without shame, during his travels in Brazil. Who doesn’t know one?!
You still need to understand that, in the beginning, the journey will be as challenging as it was in childhood when learning Portuguese. “When we learn to speak our native language, we also make many mistakes and even adults and literate people! It’s normal,” says Ana Isabelle.
The specter of the neutral accent also scares apprentices. In pursuit of perfection, students try to get as close as possible to the phonetics of native speakers of the language, but end up feeling frustrated along the way. The goal becomes impossible if we remember that there are infinite ways of speaking English.
“The fear of not speaking exactly like the English we are used to seeing in films and series creates a barrier that has yet to be deconstructed. I always try to show spoken English from different countries and in different contexts, so as to help the student. Just as in Portuguese we have different forms of pronunciation and accent, in English it is no different”, warns Péthala.
Perhaps due to the unrealistic pursuit of pronunciation perfection, US influencers who promise to teach people to speak English “like a native speaker” are successful on the Internet. On YouTube, the North American Gavin Roy has more than 2.5 million subscribers. Already Tim Cunningham He has 580 thousand followers on his Instagram profile, dedicated to English advice.
In addition to the shame and outright demands on pronunciation, Brazilian students have to do this too avoid literal translations. Tools like Google Translate help when answering a quick question, but can be a pitfall in the learning process.
“Translation is still seen as a fixed concept. And we need to take into account various types of contexts, cultural, geographical, register, spoken or written, for example. Seeing it like this helps us understand what an expression means in the most appropriate way,” advises Péthala.
I don’t have money for a course, so what?
There may also be an interest in the language and the need to speak it fluently may “knock on the door” of the job market. But in reality not everyone has the money to invest in a traditional course. If you count class time, support, and learning materials, the math may not add up for many people.
For those who can’t afford group or private lessons, the solution is to use the Internet to your advantage. “The use of language apps or social networks that connect the student with other speakers of the language via chat or voice is an alternative,” recommends Péthala.
The demand for gamified educational applications can be demonstrated by opening the Apple Store, the applications page for iPhone users. There, the Duolingo platform is the main choice for those who want to learn on mobile and is one of 100 app most downloaded in Brazil.
“If a person has access to the Internet, it is a good idea to take advantage of the material that is offered to you for free. On YouTube, for example, there are Free video lessons for teaching the English language“, claims Ana “.Podcasts and videos with fun facts and routine abroad can also be an option,” adds Péthala.
7 tips for learning English
Based on the difficulties encountered by Brazilian students, teachers Ana Isabelle Baptista and Péthala Pequeno have put together some advice for those who want to facilitate and accelerate learning in English. Remember though: the process is continuous, there is no miracle!
- Let them learn English a moment of fun: try watching series, films, sports matches and reading the language;
- Watch a series or movie you like and try leaving the audio and subtitles in English;
- Have a notebook or use a digital notepad note down doubts and new expressions;
- Use the “diary”. This is a daily writing technique that involves recording ideas, reflections, or simply talking about what you like;
- Exchange experiences with other people who are learning the language. This makes the process more dynamic;
- Speak! If it is not possible to speak in English, sing the songs you like and repeat lines from movie characters
- Keep these stimuli in your routine every day. The learning process is continuous!
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
