English for Brazilians

Learning a new language is a challenge. However, with the right tools and a lot of practice, our brain adapts and eventually learns. 

I arrived in Brazil in 2016 without speaking a single word in portuguese, and learned the language by using various apps and trying to communicate every single day. I entered the brazilian culture and managed to reach a level that allows me to have smooth communication with the people around me. 

In this dendeavor, I faced many problems with pronounciation. I have been speaking English with Brazilians and noticed the most common errors they make in their pronounciation of English words, the difference in the grammatical way of thinking and the direct translation that occurs in the brazilian mind when trying to speak English. Some letters in English are more difficult to be correctly pronounced by Brazilians because they are not used in portuguese, and this is where more practice is needed with proper guidance. Speaking fluent English is one thing, but using correct pronounciation sometimes is irrelevant to the level of the student.   

With some simple examples and lots of practice I have helped brazilians speak more fluently, using the correct idioms, without having to spend endless hours reading books. Pronounciation comes with conversation and practice, watching TV programmes in English only for the purpose of listening to thewords being correctly pronounced. Unfortunately, brazilian TV has limited potential, but there are always solutions to all problems. 

One hour practice per day, during a simple conversation, with a native, can go a long way. So, be patient and keep chatting to improve your ability in pronouncing the words in English correctly.