How long will I take? Is it difficult? And other common questions all of them answered at once.

You are not alone! 

It is absolutely incredible how people want to speak a foreign language. I meet a large amount of people who tell such a thing, but when I tell them the routine, they reply "wow, but this is not for me". So, let's see the most common questions and the answer:

- Can the learning process be painless? Yes, but longer.

- Can I learn a language just listening to music? No, not just by listening.

- Can I learn a language very quickly? Yes, in fact in a matter of months.

- Can I learn a language quickly just studying at a school twice a week? No, absolutely not. If you do not study at home you will only lose your time and money.

-Can I learn a language in three months? Yes, but you will need a stronger routine.

-How many hours of studying daily will I need to speak in three months? Over 6 daily hours.

But, if I have no time? You will NOT learn in three months.

-Is there any magic method? No, no method is perfect, the effectiveness will depend on many factors.

-Can I learn a language without going to the country where it is spoken? Yes, for sure, if anyone says you the opposite do not believe!!! A language can be perfectly learnt at any place.

-Will I speak like a native at the end of my studies? Well...This will depend on how big is your dedication, many people get this, if this is your aim, go and try it!!! I believe this is possible but not necessarily fundamental.

-How can I learn vocabulary? Well, the only way that works for me are the "Flashcards"

-Languages with different writing system are harder? No, the writing system has nothing to do with the difficulty of the language, other factors will be more important.

-Which is the hardest language to learn? Well, this will depend on many factors, the most important of them is your mother tongue and how large is its relation with your target language.

-What was the hardest language for you to learn? As Portuguese and Spanish are my native and second language, the hardest languages were the Russian, due to the declensions and Chinese due to the tones. But keep in mind: This was true for me and cannot be for you.

-Which of the four skills do you find the most difficult to master? Undoubtedly the listening, despite of what people believe speaking is one of the easiest skills to reach, all will depend on how well you can deal with information, but the listening is the only skill that is completely out of you and your control.

-How can one improve the listening? By listening a lot, but when I say "a lot" believe me, it is not only half an hour a day, that is at least two or three hours, even as a passive listening.

-Listening to music can help the general listening? No, no and no. Many people will disagree with me, but musics have different vocabulary and rhythm, you can have a fantastic listing for general language and terrible listing for music, and vice versa.

And how about films, by watching them will I improve my listening? Yes, for sure, but this will only work without the subtitles, the brain cannot put the attention in two things at the same time.

-How can I improve the writing? By writing.

How can I improve the reading? By reading.

How can I improve the speaking? By speaking and listening.

-I have no time, and no hurry, can I still learn a language? Yes, absolutely. If you are no hurried and want the language learning as "a process", you will find the learning languages  one of the best hobbies you have ever tried.

-As a hobby how many hours should I study? Ten minutes studying by your own every day, besides attending to a language class at least once (preferably twice) a week.

-And by doing this how long should I take? This is difficult to predict, because it will depend on many factors, but on the average 4 to 6 years. Do not think it is too much, it is a hobby, if you studied piano or paint this could take the whole life, couldn't you?

Which is better learning languages as a hobby or "in a hurry"? I learn them in a hurry, then as a hobby, because I reach the level B1 or B2 very quickly and after I enjoy the long process. By doing this, I have reach two goals at the same time, because I learn a new language and do not lose my hobby.

Wow, a lot of questions, aren't they?
Have you got any question?

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Learning Arabic in Brazil in three months? If he can, anyone can!

Jimmy Mello (Brazilian Polyglot) & Benny Lewis (Irish Polyglot)

Last month I met with one of the greatest internet polyglots, Benny Lewis - The Irish Polyglot, he is famous for his polemic but full of precious tips web site, the Fluent in Three Months, maybe it is polemic because of the clamming that it is possible to speak fluently in three months, but if you knew the routing of this guy, you would certainly believe in his words and acts. In fact everyone with a great amount of dedication can learn in a hurry, there is no magic, but only hard work. During our informal meeting, Benny told me his experiences and adventures in the field of language learning, then I could definitively realise that he devotes his lifetime to his missions, and despite of the fact that he is not looking for perfection, he has a perfect Portuguese, because our meeting was entirely in Portuguese.

Benny, came to my city in in Brazil, Belo Horizonte, to learn Arabic, and the curious thing is that there is virtually no Arabic speaker in my city, and this called out my attention, but after a while I understood perfectly well Benny's aim, many people tend to believe that if you do not live or pass a long time in the country where the language is spoken you will never learn the foreign language, but Benny is trying to prove us, and will get, that this is not a real thing, it is just another myth in the field of foreign languages. You can learn any language, anywhere, the most important factors are YOU and YOUR HABITS. I have previously written an article about "stop complaining" , and it is exactly what I am going to tell you before finishing this article: stop complaining, if an Irish man can learn Arabic in Brazil, you can learn any language, anywhere at anytime, turn off your computer right now and STUDY!

Thanks Benny!

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Free Brazilian Portuguese course (Mp3 & Pdf)

These are the most important symbols of my country and city!

I created a small course to learn Brazilian Portuguese: 

I tried to put part of my methodology to teach foreign languages to people from all over the world This is just the pilot piece of the project, but you can try it and then tell me what you think about, my idea is to do a whole course free of charge, but for this freedbacks are important:

Pilot Lesson - 01 (mp3)

                                    01  (Pdf)* 

*(the pasword to open the file is jimmymello)

Follow the blog to keep the lessons updated -----> 

Some facts abou Portuguese Language:

Portuguese is spoken by about 250 million people in Portugal, Brazil, and other former Portuguese colonies. It is the eighth most spoken language and the third most spoken European language in the world (after English and Spanish). Portuguese is one of the five modern Romance languages, together with Spanish, French, Italian and Romanian. It was originated in what is now Galicia (Spain) and northern Portugal from the Latin spoken by Romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, about 2000 years ago. Standard Portuguese is established on the dialect of Lisbon. Dialectal distinction in Portugal is limited, but the difference between Brazilian and European Portuguese is far wide, including variations in phonology, verb conjugation, and syntax. The language you are going to learn in this course from Brazil.

*(the pasword to open the file is jimmymello)

Your feedback is very important!!!

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