How can I learn English quickly?!

The Italian Man Who went to Malta



This poor man's problem in this hilarious video is not his vocabulary or grammar, it' s his pronunciation - which could easily be corrected with some speaking lessons!

My own personal experience of learning a language

As I, Kristin, have lived abroad for many years, first in Sweden when I was younger for 3 years, then in California for almost 5 years, and now here in Recife for also 5 years, I can tell you firsthand how important it is to learn the language of the country you live in.
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Now... I did already speak English when I moved to California, so that helped a lot, but as I moved here to Recife in 2008, I did not speak a word in Portuguese. Well, maybe I knew how to say "My name is" and "good morning", but not more than that.

It was really hard for me to get to know people and understand the culture, and I'm sure people often thought I had zero personality because I didn't laugh when someone told a really funny story or because I sometimes withdrew myself and kept quiet, trying not to say something wrong or make a fool of myself (which happened many times of course!).

As I started teaching English at a private English school here in Recife, I slowly started learning Portuguese. Mostly I learned with help from my students, who were always willing to help me out, both with pronunciation and grammar. I can' t remember how many times they patiently helped me pronounce "Agamenon Magalhães" and "confraternização" - yikes! Some of my students laughed at me when I pronounced something wrong and I have to admit that it sometimes hurt my feelings a little bit - but I know some people can' t help laughing when they hear something funny (like me!) so I would just ask this student to say "Rear View Mirror" and everyone would start laughing, hence breaking that ice.

I slowly started understanding more and more, and I was able to participate more in conversations and feel better about myself. Of course I had many problems! Especially when it came to using complex grammar given the fact that I have never taken a class in Portuguese. But at least now I was finally able to communicate and show people that I´m not all THAT boring hehe.

I know it´s hard at first to learn a language. Often I felt like giving up and using that golden excuse "I don' t speak Portuguese" but as I sat alone in the corner and watched people having fun and laughing, I decided not to give up.

So what did I do to learn Portuguese faster?
I listen to music and read the lyrics (often using a dictionary or asking friends for help).
I started speaking more in Portuguese with my colleagues (this was not just difficult for me but also for them because you change a little bit when you speak another language, right?). I often had the problem of them answering me back in English and I would have to ask them to please speak in Portuguese.
I watched more Brazilian movies and documentaries (I don' t have the patience to watch soap operas!)

What helped me the most was definitely the speaking part. As I forced myself to speak Portuguese and asked people to please correct and help me, I started caring less about making a fool of myself and I started feeling more and more secure in speaking.

We're all afraid of making mistakes and looking silly, but in the end what helps you the most is learning from mistakes!
Just like with everything else in life!
For example: You call in sick for work and get caught sunbathing at the beach by your boss and get fired. Well, you learned NOT to do that anymore, right? (Hopefully at least! Unfortunately, some of us never learn from our mistakes...)

False Friends

Most of us who have studied languages have heard about "False friends" - words that are very similar to each other but yet SO different and can lead to some serious misunderstanding.

Some examples

A sensible person in English is someone who is rational and does things that "make sense".
Sensível in Portuguese is a sensitive person who can cry watching a toilet paper commercial which involves cute puppies.

Pretender - When you intend to do something or you want to: Eu pretendo estudar mais Ingles esse ano!
To pretend in English means "fingir" in Portuguese. I can' t tell you how many times my students have said "I pretend to study more English this year" - the good news is that they learn quickly from this mistake!

And how many times have I pushed a door to open it because it says "Puxar" which sounds like "Push" in English! This gets me EVERY time!


Can you think of more examples of False Friends? Has anything funny or even embarrassing happened to you?