Since the visit by the Brazilian guitarist Eneias, my Portuguese proficiency has taken a steep upturn.
Ten days of being forced to speak a foreign language made me very tired, but I've learned a lot of new and useful words and phrases, and I feel much more confident in using them.
I manage to reinstall the language trainer phone app (that I somehow broke through overuse), and resume my daily practice.
And I return to my Saturday morning Portuguese classes.
We are asked to prepare a five-minute presentation about a city of our choice.
I select Berlin because of its interesting and well-known history of being divided by a wall. Even if I don't speak very well, the group will know what I'm talking about. My first task is to open the laptop and select pictures from the internet for my PowerPoint presentation. It feels like doing a school project (except that in those days I pasted the pictures into a blank book).
Then I prepare a simple talk, consisting of a couple of sentences for each slide. I don't have time to memorise it, but hopefully each picture will remind me of what I want to say.
On the Saturday, mine is the first presentation. I begin confidently, but when I reach some of the unfamiliar words I have to resort to reading from my notes. I feel cross with myself. How much better I could have done if I'd rehearsed my talk! Just twenty minutes would have been enough.
Then I remind myself this was my first attempt at presenting in Portuguese. For a first try, it was not bad at all. At times, I was speaking to the group, not just reading from a script.
Next time I'll do better. This is a skill that I can develop.
Eneias has invited me to perform with him in Brazil later this year. "You'll be able to speak to the audience in Portuguese?' he asked. And in a rush of over-confidence, I replied "Yes, of course".
Now I know it's true.
Yes, I can!
Ten days of being forced to speak a foreign language made me very tired, but I've learned a lot of new and useful words and phrases, and I feel much more confident in using them.
I manage to reinstall the language trainer phone app (that I somehow broke through overuse), and resume my daily practice.
And I return to my Saturday morning Portuguese classes.
We are asked to prepare a five-minute presentation about a city of our choice.
I select Berlin because of its interesting and well-known history of being divided by a wall. Even if I don't speak very well, the group will know what I'm talking about. My first task is to open the laptop and select pictures from the internet for my PowerPoint presentation. It feels like doing a school project (except that in those days I pasted the pictures into a blank book).
Then I prepare a simple talk, consisting of a couple of sentences for each slide. I don't have time to memorise it, but hopefully each picture will remind me of what I want to say.
On the Saturday, mine is the first presentation. I begin confidently, but when I reach some of the unfamiliar words I have to resort to reading from my notes. I feel cross with myself. How much better I could have done if I'd rehearsed my talk! Just twenty minutes would have been enough.
Then I remind myself this was my first attempt at presenting in Portuguese. For a first try, it was not bad at all. At times, I was speaking to the group, not just reading from a script.
Next time I'll do better. This is a skill that I can develop.
Eneias has invited me to perform with him in Brazil later this year. "You'll be able to speak to the audience in Portuguese?' he asked. And in a rush of over-confidence, I replied "Yes, of course".
Now I know it's true.
Yes, I can!
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