While it may not be as widely appreciated as other European languages like Spanish or French, Portuguese is still a wonderful language that allows students to communicate with people around the world, from Portugal to Brazil to Angola and more.
If you're still not quite sold on the pros of taking Portuguese lessons, read below about the variety of reasons why you should...
All the Pros of Taking A Portuguese Course
It was so difficult for us to narrow down our list of pros for Portuguese students, but we managed to get it down to a handy list of 11 reasons why every student should contact a private Portuguese teacher asap!
1. Get In Contact With Millions of Speakers Across the World
It's easy to forget that Portuguese isn't just spoken in Portugal, but across the world from Africa to South America. This means that there's a huge variety of resources online for teachers to use, and plenty of people around for students to practice their skills with, whether they're beginners or advanced.
2. It's an Official Language in Many Countries
Portuguese is actually an official language of ten different countries and territories including:
- Angola;
- Macau;
- Mozambique; and
- Cape Verde.
With around 232 million native speakers, plus the millions of students that have reached intermediate and advanced levels, Portuguese is actually a useful language to have in your back pocket went travelling in many parts of the world.
3. It's A Niche Study Area in Australia
Most schools and universities in Australia don't offer their students a Portuguese class, preferring to teach European languages like Spanish or French, or Asian languages like Mandarin or Indonesian.
While this might make it a little more difficult to find a tutor or school for Portuguese lessons, it does mean that your language studies will be a point of difference, and may even help you find specialised opportunities.
4. Connect With Local Portuguese Communities
There is quite a large diaspora from Portuguese speaking countries in many cities in Australia, and plenty of ways to get involved, making your language learning experience more authentic.
If you want to get involved but don't know how to, you can start by reaching out to local associations, like the Brazilian Association in Melbourne. These groups often throw fun events for a small price where you can practice.
You could even look to one of these groups in your search for a teacher- they'll probably know native speaker teachers in your local area offering courses!
5. Help Your CV Stand Out From The Others
We've already mentioned the fact that Portuguese is quite a niche language to study, so once you reach an intermediate or advanced level, you'll have a skill that few other candidates have.
This can be especially useful if you're looking for professional work with companies that have close ties with or headquarters in Portugal, Brazil or other countries. Your advanced language skills could be the factor that gets you in the door.
Also, studying a language to a high level shows a level of commitment, work ethic and consistency, qualities that many professional employers look for when selecting the best candidate for a role.
6. Get Ahead In One Of The World’s Largest Economies
Because of its size and population, Brazil's economy is extremely important in the Latin American region. In fact, it's just behind Russia as the world's 12th biggest economy. So what does that mean for beginners who are just starting their first lesson?
Well, if you invest in your Portuguese courses and reach an advanced level, it means that you'd be in a position to find interesting professional work in both Australia or Brazil, especially as a native speaker of English.
Find Portuguese lessons Sydney here on Superprof.
7. Explore the World of Brazilian and Portuguese Music
One of the best pros of studying a foreign language is gaining access to a whole new set of art, including music. During your courses, audio practice can come from a variety of resources, like songs.
Brazil is famous for its many traditional genres like Samba, Bossa Nova and Axé, and Portugal is known for the stirring genre of Fado. Getting to know the language through these types of audio resources can make your learning experience more fun and authentic.
8. Read Classic and Modern Literature
Art doesn't just extend to music, but also to the written word. While you can find foreign books translated into English, the best feeling is being able to read them in their original language, as the author intended.
From João Guimarães to José Saramago or Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, you can find styles of writing to suit any preference. And the more you read, the more your reading and writing skills will improve.
If you decide to choose a private Portuguese tutor, you can even ask them to organise a class on a particular author or period.
9. Discover the Traditions of a New Culture
Along with the art created in Portuguese, there is also so much to learn about the culture and traditions of the different countries where Portuguese is spoken.
You can study anything from common religious festivals in Brazil to traditional food for celebrations in Angola. Knowing the language can allow access to so many more resources, from recipes to prayer books.
10. Use Portuguese to Learn Spanish or Any Romance Language More Easily
Most people know that Portuguese and Spanish share common roots, so the grammar and vocabulary are very similar. While they're not quite identical, knowing one can definitely make it easier to learn and speak the other.
This means that if you travel to basically any country in Latin America or Spain, you'll be in a good position to understand what's going on. Or if you want to try Spanish courses, you'll notice you improve much faster.
So for the price of one language lesson, you're basically gaining two languages!
Spanish is similar to Portuguese because they are both Romance languages, but they are certainly not the only two. Others include French, Italian and Romanian, which also have similar rules.
This means that courses in one of these languages, whether they're school courses or a class with a private teacher, can be much easier for students with experience learning Portuguese.
Of course, each language represents its own challenge and you'll need to do plenty of revision after class, but the connection should definitely give you a good head start!
Find Portuguese classes Melbourne here on Superprof.
11. It’s A Great Way To Challenge Yourself
To sum up, we know there are plenty of great reasons a student might want to contact a Portuguese teacher to start classes tomorrow. It's hard to find any cons actually!
It's spoken by people from Portugal to Brazil, countries which both have plenty to offer in terms of art and culture, as well as great professional opportunities. It's also a gateway to learning other fascinating languages.
But maybe the best reason any student should learn any language is for the challenge of it all! Persisting with Portuguese classes is not easy, especially for beginners who might feel like they'll never reach the next level.
There are skills that you'll need to work on from audio comprehension to mastering pronunciation and memorising grammar structures, all of which take plenty of time and revision after every lesson.
But, as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait (and work hard of course!) and after reaching an intermediate or even advanced level of fluency, not only will you have all the pros we've already mentioned, but also a feeling of pride and satisfaction!
Which Portuguese Resources Should You Use?
We've talked a lot about why a student might want to take a Portuguese course, but not so much about how or where...
For beginners who simply want to learn a little basic grammar and vocabulary, free apps like Babbel or Duolingo could be a good start. Duolingo is more of a game set-up, whereas Babbel teaches some grammar rules, more like a class.
You could also look into group courses at your local university or adult education centre. Group courses allow for plenty of speaking practice and you're likely to get a qualified teacher with plenty of experience.
The final and best option is taking a class with a private tutor, which can be done in person or online. If you're interested in this option, Superprof.com is a great place to search for a tutor. Check out Brazilian Portuguese online courses to start!
You can find a variety of information about different teachers, like whether they speak Brazilian or Central Portuguese or the price of their hour-long lessons. Once you've chosen a teacher you like, you can take a free trial lesson!
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