Portuguese is a special language. It requires a special approach.
Trust me, if she can teach me, she can teach anybody!
Keith, UK
What really makes the program different is the personal attention students receive.
Deborah, USA
Catarina seems to be aware of everyone’s challenges and pitfalls
Flor, the netherlands
I’ve never experienced a teacher like Catarina, nor a learning environment like she has created here at The Language Unschool.
Amy, usa
It truly feels like having a personal tutor guiding you in your learning journey.
tony, indonesia
I chose to study with Catarina because she doesn’t sugar-coat the situation.
michèle, usa
This is how THE LANGUAGE UNSCHOOL can help you feel comfortable in European Portuguese
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Is the Language Unschool for you?
For complete beginners, open to a new approach
For complete beginners with knowledge of other languages
For seasoned beginners and intermediate learners, tired of not understanding naturally spoken Portuguese
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What will the Portuguese à la Unschooling do for you?
To speak a foreign language means:
FREEDOM
to be yourself: freedom to fully be yourself in another country (although it’s possible that you might uncover different sides of you because the culture will inevitable influence you)
to speak up your mind: which is why I help you find your voice in European Portuguese
to enjoy life: freedom to simply enjoy life in the country where the language is spoken
of decision: freedom to decide who you’re going to talk to and how deep or superficial that conversation will be
to give: freedom to contribute with your talents; many people want to volunteer but cannot because the language is a barrier
of choice:
freedom of choice - if you understand what is going on around you, you can then choose more wisely.
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I feel the most empowered when I have a conversation in the languages I can speak (Portuguese, English, Italian, French, Dutch, Polish, Spanish), or even in the languages I can only understand (German, Swedish, Frisian, Mandarin, Hungarian). I also love being surprised by understanding bits and pieces of similar languages I never even learnt. And above all, languages have allowed me to connect with people and feel at home wherever I was.
The Language Unschool is the culmination of my experience in learning 11 foreign languages.
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THE UNSCHOOLING APPROACH
follows these principles:
respect for the way you learn - and we use different methods to help you
attention to what interests you have, so that you can consume native content you like from our library (see below about the Tuga Book)
learning a language is a cyclical experience; it’s not about moving on from lesson one to lesson two; you need repetition and review things from a different perspective
honour the holistic nature of language learning. The different components of language learning - reading, listening, writing, speaking, grammar, vocabulary - are to be experienced in a holistic way.
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I’ll give you an example. An Unschooler of mine had heard me say the expression “chover a potes”, which means it’s raining a lot.
But she forgot.
Some months later she read it again in one of the lessons (and heard it too, because it was a text-audio exercise).
And what did she do about it?
Normally I advise my Unschoolers to write down new expressions and have a reference noted to help them remember it, but she didn’t.
Well, she did, but in a different way. She first used (spoke) the expression in her village and surprised everyone around her. They said she was becoming a true Portuguese.
Now comes the writing part.
She shared this little story with the other Unschoolers in writing (was she teaching others or helping herself learn?), thus closing a natural cycle that involved reading, listening, speaking, writing.
After spending years at school and traditional courses, I started very organically developing my own strategies to learn languages. The Language Unschool, and more specifically the Portuguese Program à la Unschooling, is the combination of that experience and my hyper listening powers (who doesn’t struggle to understand the Portuguese?) into a holistic experience of learning European Portuguese.
Our Unschoolers' #iupiiis
First #iupiii that I share. My husband had to go into medical center to make two appointments. I was able to understand the clerk and translate from her Portuguese to him in English so he could pick appointment times. Did not have to ask if she could repeat to me nor ask her if she spoke English. Felt like a real win! Thank you, Catarina.
P.
USA
My #iupiii moment was yesterday when as vizinhos novos (new to us) nos convidaram a jantar em um restaurante. Neither speaks any English. We managed to converse for 2+ hours. They invited us to a community piquenique next week. Lots of listening and speaking yesterday!
P.
USA
My apartment has many problems, and the repair workers often come in for the tasks. This has been going on for many months. The leader of the workers doesn’t speak English at all, not even “yes” or “no”. In the past, I had to use a translation app on the phone all the times just for the bare minimum talk. Lately, I started to speak in Portuguese, although not 100% of times, and he is clearly becoming comfortable to talk with me. That’s my #iupiii.
C.
Japan
Have A General Inquiry?
If you have a general inquiry and would like to speak with me directly, you can contact me via email at: catarina@thelanguageunschool.com
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