Nome: não autorizado

Idade: 30

País de origem: Alemanha

Tempo de aprendizagem de português: 2 meses

Narrativa coletada por Fernanda Sousa Carvalho em 17 de outubro de 2005

I came here two months ago. I will work here for two years at ICB, at the Institute of Biology, and because I will live here for more than two years it’s maybe necessary to learn Portuguese, so this is why I’ve started it. And ... till now it’s quite complicated because I’m a nature scientist, and I’m not good at languages at all, so it’s quite difficult for me that ... I see this progress, you know, I understand more from week to week, and ... so right now I understand quite lot better. It’s still difficult to talk and to express myself in Portuguese.

- And how do you study? Only in classes?

Well, most of the time in classes, and  I ... in the beginning I tried to use a computer program called [...] that ... you know. It’s quite an interesting program, it has been made by the NASA [...] the USA. It ... you have in it all languages to learn just by ... you try to relate pictures to the new language and don’t use only language anymore, so it brings you step by step the new languages, it’s quite interesting.

- Do you practice the language, talking to people...?

[...] I ... try to talk in Portuguese to my girlfriend, and [to friends as well], and to Brazilian, and I talk to the family and [... I need a] ... I try to [...] complicated and as most of the people I meet here are quite good in English, so this helps to express more complicated things, most of the time I do it in English, so it’s not really good for the progress of my Portuguese but it’s easier.

- And ... you have started learning here, right?... you haven’t studied Portuguese before ...

Well, I tried to start when I was still in Berlin, in Germany, but it was the end period of my PhD thesis so there was lot of work and I didn’t have so much time for that.

- What do you think is the most helpful in your learning?

The most helpful ... well, I think I’m ... I learn the most when I go to butecos or wherever and just drink something and talk to people. My personal opinion is that I learn much more like this than in class, I think.

- Is there something else you’d like to add?

Well, I think it might be easier here to learn Portuguese than, for instance, German in Germany because people here are very helpful , they all the time... they try to help you with the language, so that is really nice.

- Do you intend to go on learning Portuguese even after you go back to Germany?