Learning the language can also help prevent you from being

taken advantage of. You should not only consider the

benefits to you, but the fact that many Portuguese natives

will find it extremely impolite and somewhat arrogant, if

you are making no effort to speak to them in their language.

Whilst tourist areas and more cosmopolitan towns and cities

may have many English speakers to hand, small towns and

villages will not.

Government offices and authorities will rarely deal with you

in English, and if you attempt to write communications in

English you may well get a terse reply telling you that the

working language of Portugal is Portuguese!

It is no good waiting until you are living in Portugal to

learn and hoping you will just pick it up. You won't! You

should start learning many months before your permanent

arrival and keep doing it after your relocation.

Here are 8 tips for making it easier to learn Portuguese?

1. There are many language books, tapes, CDs and courses out

there. Some are better than others and some may suit some

people better than others. Buying a few different courses

and alternating them, whilst expensive, may help to keep

things fresh and widen your vocabulary and grammar.

2. The key is little and often. 15 to 20 minutes a day is

far better than an hour or two once or twice a week. You

will retain a lot more and not find yourself getting bogged

down. You are also more likely to make that amount of time

available each day and not find excuses for doing something

else.

3. If possible, try to find a private, native speaking

teacher and either attend a class, or preferably one-to-one

lessons, so that you can study at your own rate.

4. Study with a spouse, partner or friend for motivational

purposes. If you both know there is a time set and that

someone else is relying on you, you will be less likely to

skip it and do something else.

5. Watch Portuguese TV and listen to Portuguese radio.

However awful some of the programmes might be, you will be

amazed at how much sinks in after a while. Portuguese

telenovelas (soap operas) are excellent for this. The

language used is generally of the everyday type and you can

usually easily follow the very simple plots and story lines.

6. Don't worry about making mistakes and being perfect. Just

DO IT! You won't learn if you don't make mistakes. Think of

how many mistakes you hear when foreigners are trying to

learn to speak English. Do you make fun of them? No. In

general most people are appreciative of others making the

effort to learn their language. Plus, it can be real fun.

7. If someone replies to you in English, just keep speaking

Portuguese, or if need be, ask them politely if they would

mind not speaking to you in English.

8. If you have certain jobs or shopping to do the next day,

or later the same day, do a bit of homework before you go

out. Make a list of the verbs and vocabulary you might need

and learn them and take the list with you for support. Many

situations are quite similar, so once you've learnt a few

stock phrases you can use them again and again.