Tips to stay motivated
Over all
- Be open-minded. Accept that some things are different in Portuguese and others are VERY different in Portuguese.
- Allow yourself to make mistakes. Accept there is a transition period and you won’t sound perfect. No one expects this of you but yourself!
- Leave your comfort zone! You’ll be stuck there if you never leave it. But keep the balance – don’t go so far that you feel overwhelmed and stressed. This will also keep you stuck at that same level.
- After you’ve learned some of the language try not to be too overconfident to the point you become settled in bad habits with no desire to improve. They are the most difficult to break later on.
- Be patient! I know you want to speak fluently by yesterday, but be prepared it may take longer than you would like to admit. Don’t use this as an excuse to not try though!
Doing the work and staying focused
- A little healthy competition is great for motivation, but don’t sacrifice quality over speed. Go at your own pace. Being consistent is what is going to help you win this one.
- Don’t compare your progress to other people’s. You may be better at something they’re not. You never know!
- Don’t focus on failure – failures are the stepping stones to success!
- Practice speaking at any chance you get! It doesn’t have to be a perfect in-depth report. Just don’t wait for your weekly lesson. It will take you years to learn if you do.
- Do homework that fits in with you and your lifestyle and don’t make it into a Herculean labour either.
The Secret is
Work towards improving your proficiency, not perfection. Don’t make “being fluent” or “sounding fluent” your goal. It’s much more valuable to understand and be understood than having perfect grammar or pronunciation and still not being able to have a simple conversation or understand a word of what’s being said.
How?
- Focus on many small sections first – only so many as you can manage.
2. Spend time with the language – And I don’t mean doing exercises and studying for hours. I mean – practice listening. Try to actively listen to the radio or the news, course recordings, try different apps, podcasts, watch a film or show with no subtitles several times. Whatever suits your style best. But above all, keep the stress out of it.
In time, all this will morph into the ultimate goal you so want – without you realizing it.