• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Translation/Interpretation
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog

Language Learning: How to Create Immersion from Home

posted on September 2, 2013

Language Learning: Create Immersion at Home

I recently read an interesting study: Viewing images that remind you of your home country can decrease your fluency in the foreign language you are learning. The study was done with Chinese students who were living in the US and learning English. When those students were speaking English while viewing pictures that reminded them of China, they produced 11% to 16% fewer words per minute on average. The study also showed that the students tended to use their native language structures and literal translations more often when viewing pictures that reminded them of home.

This study suggests that immersion is an effective way to become fluent in a foreign language. That is great news for those who have the opportunity to study and/or live abroad. But what if you are not be able to spend considerable time abroad? How do you create some level of immersion without leaving your home country? Here are four suggestions to surround yourself with the foreign language and support your learning:

 

1. Enjoy music

Talk to your friends and use YouTube to find artists you like. Google the lyrics of your favorite songs and get busy translating and understanding the song. Then sing along. Try to imitate the pronunciation of the singer and the flow of the language. This will help you improve your speaking, develop your listening, and learn new vocabulary, including colloquial expressions and slang. To get started, check out this playlist with video lessons using Brazilian songs to teach you Portuguese.

 

2. Watch TV and listen to radio programs in the language you are learning

There are tons of resources available free online. Visit Street Smart Brazil’s Resources page to find links to podcasts, TV programs, and online radio stations in Portuguese. There you will also find a list of Brazilian musicians with links to YouTube videos. In the book Language is Music, polyglot and language instructor Susanna Zaraysky shares over 70 tips to learn foreign languages fast using music and the media.

 

3. Use social media in the target language

Follow personalities and make friends who are native speakers of the language you are learning. This will help you use the language in real-life conversations. Don’t worry if your Portuguese is not perfect. Have fun with the experience and enjoy these interactions. May we suggest you start by following Street Smart Brazil on Facebook and Twitter? We hope to speak with you there.

 

4. Have a regular conversation group 

Having regular practice is key to achieving and maintaining fluency. Use Meetup.com to find conversation and cultural groups in the target language or create your own group. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, please visit our Brazilian Portuguese Meetup group. Another great way to enjoy regular practice is to enroll in a conversation class. It will help you develop fluency around a broad range of conversation topics. Street Smart Brazil offers online conversation group classes that are designed to help you speak and understand Portuguese better.

We’d love to hear from you: How do you create your own immersion at home? 

 

Related Articles:

Learning Portuguese: Why It Is Important to Speak Idiomatically

Bota frio nisso! Learn Colloquial Portuguese

Learn Portuguese: Useful Portuguese Vocabulary for Business and Social Situations

 

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Related Posts:

  • 8 Power Tips to Learn Verb Conjugation – Portuguese lesson
  • Verb Tirar: 4 Common and Useful Uses – Portuguese Lesson
  • 5 New Books to Learn Portuguese
Share ... Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email
Luciana Lage

About Luciana Lage

Luciana Lage founded Street Smart Brazil drawing on her passion for Brazilian Portuguese language and culture. Luciana has also taught Portuguese at University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches at the University of San Francisco.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Music
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Street Smart Brazil has been incredible. As someone who is focused on international business as a profession and a passion, learning languages has always been critical in helping me bridge cultures an… – Jessica

Meet The Team

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Portuguese Conversation Group Class open now
  • Brazilian New Year’s Eve Traditions and Superstitions
  • Use the Infinitive in Portuguese instead of -ING in English – Portuguese lesson
  • To Turn On in Portuguese: 3 Different Verbs– Portuguese lesson
  • 5 New Books to Learn Portuguese

Footer Subscribe

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/Q8ONwVoTG9M

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course
  • Aulas de Inglês

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2021 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved | Website by Web Savvy Marketing