Last Updated on December 9, 2021 by Larious
Do you have relatives who speak Portuguese, and you’d like to communicate better with them? Are you planning on travelling to a Portuguese-speaking country soon? Do you live in an area with a large Portuguese community? If any of these things are ringing a bell, you have probably considered learning Portuguese. Not only is it a beautiful language, but it can come in handy in many situations.
Learning a foreign language on your own can be challenging. If you have the help of private tutors, it’s much easier. Eurekly.com features a wide selection of tutors who specialize in different subjects and languages, including Portuguese. It’s a great place to find affordable, knowledgeable Portuguese tutors and get started on your way to fluency.Â
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What Are the Benefits of Learning Portuguese With a Private Tutor?
When you learn a foreign language, or any subject, with a private tutor, you get several benefits.Â
Personal attention
Instead of vying for the attention of a teacher who has to speak to a class of many students, you can study with a private tutor who will be able to give you their full attention.
You set the pace
Another issue that arises when learning in a group setting is that the teacher usually has a curriculum of their own and needs to cover a certain amount of material in a short period of time. When you learn with a private tutor, you don’t need to rush to keep up with the pace of an entire class—you set the pace. Go as fast or as slow as you want.Â
Customized lesson plans
A private tutor can create tailor-made lesson plans based on your background and goals.Â
Flexibility
Since you don’t need to leave your house for online tutoring, it’s easier to find times that suit both you and your tutor. On Eurekly, there is such a large selection of tutors to choose from that you can base your choice on their availability. You can also schedule sessions instantly, a good option for students who need help studying for tests.Â
Affordability
Local in-person classes or private tutors often charge a lot of money because there is less competition. Online lessons are more affordable because tutors know that if they charge too much, you’ll simply find one who charges less.Â
Do You Need Portuguese Lessons if You’re Fluent in Spanish?
Many Spanish speakers think that they can pick up Portuguese on the fly since the languages share some similarities. And in fact, Spanish and Portuguese are two of the most similar Romance languages.Â
According to researchers from the Interinstitutional Center for Research and Development in Computational Linguistics, 85% of the Portuguese lexicon contains Spanish cognates. However, about 20% of these cognates are false, which means that a Spanish speaker might think they know a word in Portuguese, but it’s not truly the right word. Other differences include grammar and pronunciation.
Therefore, while knowing Spanish is certainly an advantage when learning Portuguese, it also comes with certain pitfalls. Learning Portuguese online with the help of a private tutor can help you become aware of these pitfalls, figure out how to avoid them, and learn the different rules of grammar and pronunciation.
Similarly, English speakers also have an advantage when learning Portuguese, since the two share some common Latin roots (as opposed to Russian or Japanese). While knowing English is a good basis, you’ll still need to put a significant amount of work into learning Portuguese. An online tutor can build on your strengths while teaching you all the new components of Portuguese.Â
How Important Is It to Learn the Portuguese Language?
There are more than 200 million native Portuguese speakers globally, but just because it’s the fifth-most spoken language in terms of native speakers doesn’t mean you have to learn Portuguese.
Most people choose to learn Portuguese because of their personal situations and goals. For example, anyone who plans on traveling or spending a significant amount of time in a Portuguese-speaking country would do well to learn the language. Others may have Portuguese-speaking family members and want to communicate better. And still others may love the sound of the language and want to broaden their horizons.
Whatever your reason for learning Portuguese, that’s what makes it important to you. The more important you feel it is, the more motivated you’ll be to learn it.Â
Eurekly Makes Learning Portuguese Easy
Learning Portuguese may be challenging, but Eurekly makes it easier than ever. The site offers a large selection of tutors to choose from, and you can easily sort through them using different filters. An especially nice touch is that many tutors offer free trial lessons, so you can see who you’re dealing with before committing to anything.Â
Even if you decide you’d like to go ahead and schedule recurring tutoring sessions, you can always let your tutor know if something comes up and reschedule.Â
While learning Portuguese can be tough, Eurekly makes the process as smooth and seamless as possible. Check out Eurekly.com today and see for yourself.Â