This, I promise, will be the last time I mention my recent and significant birthday. I do so only to illustrate and debunk a commonly held misconception, (or is it just an excuse?), when it comes to learning Portuguese, or anything new and potentially difficult for that matter.
If you’ve seen the 80s comedy movie, Airplane, you may recall a repeating scene, where Lloyd Bridges claims to have “picked a bad week to give up [insert addiction here]”, when facing the most stressful moments in the film’s hilarious plot. And it’s in this week, here in July 2025 that I, having entered my sixth decade, sympathise with his plight, thinking I’ve chosen the wrong week to tactically and practically improve my grasp of this nation’s mother tongue.
Thankfully, the method I am using, to complement my until-now inexcusably slow progress and only elementary grasp of Portuguese, is the “30-Day European Portuguese Challenge for Beginners”, devised by Maria Malheiro with some help from her husband, and one of my greatest Portuguese friends, Vitor Costa. It’s been a busy week of celebration, on top of my already-busy schedule, and their online, learn-at-your-own-pace method has had me triumph, cramming my course-work from the week, into my early Saturday morning, whilst simultaneously penning this piece about it.
Maria’s modus operandi for educating foreigners is based on, and developed around, the SKOOL community-building platform, of which I am a huge fan and have entrusted my own ‘Portugal Club’ – my own spin-off community for Good Morning Portugal!. As a side note, I think SKOOL is going to be a big challenge to ad-laden, data-sucking social media, such as we know it, with its somewhat ‘old school’ approach to enjoying the more positive peer-to-peer benefits of the Internet, which generally seems to be heading into an AI-obsessed and profit-dominated hellhole.
At skool.com, community owners and course creators can share their passion and market their expertise, which Portuguese teacher Maria is doing, based on a well thought out calendar and daily lesson plan (Sundays are rest day) that approaches learning Portuguese from every angle – listening, speaking, writing and comprehension – prompted by light-hearted and informative videos, audio files and downloadable PDFs.
On enrolment, students – who can enjoy the course as an inclusive Portugal Club membership perk – are greeted by a step-by-step, day-by-day approach, complete with a resources list and overview. Maria’s friendly and gentle style is apparent from the very first video, which I am sure can pivot to a firmer form of ‘encouragement’, should the need arise!
I’m a week in, and a busy week at that, finding the online, on-demand approach very manageable, helpful and engaging. That said, Maria also offers a Saturday morning Zoom call ‘Practice Room’, where our newly-acquired knowledge can be practiced verbally, with other students, alongside her supportive WhatsApp group where students can check-in and check up on any snags they are encountering, at any time.
I’m pleased, as well as slightly proud of myself, to say that my café and shop Portuguese is in fairly good working order, as I have endeavoured since arrival, and before on my first scouting trips to Portugal, to at least say hello, please and thank you. Where I’m stuck is at that ‘what happens after we’ve said: “Tudo bem?”’ level, and Maria is already weighing in with a whole range of conversational hacks and tools that I know are going to make my Portuguese social life easier and more enjoyable.
Learning some Portuguese is the absolute least we can do, and I was appalled recently to see a foreigner open an interaction with absolutely no concession to local culture, assuming her English order would be met in kind, apparently without the merest whiff of embarrassment or doubt of her entitlement. For me, it was awkward, and my concern for her sense of respect and politeness was probably wasted. Let’s not be that kind of ‘estrangeiro’. Let’s instead make an active effort in the world of everyday Portuguese, with no mind to the needs of citizenship requirements, which as far as I can see, fail to equip participants for daily conversation (and some might say even citizenship, given recent political plots).
I am not too old, and nor are you. I am not too busy, and I suspect neither are you. Learning Portuguese, as well as a matter of sheer politeness, is one of my priorities, plus finding an approach that is right for the learner. I think I have found mine, finally. One that I can fit into my schedule, and that suits my learning style and short attention span.
As I return to conclude my musings here on Maria and her methods, after our Saturday morning on-screen session, I feel more confident going beyond the absolute basics, ordering green tea for Mrs M with a stronger chance of being understood, and have had the ‘power of pronunciation’ reinforced in my heart and mind. After much giggling, I will now always remember the subtle sonic differences between the Portuguese words for countries, fish and parents – confusion around which could bring about a hilarious or disastrous encounter, without the checks and balances of a good tutor.
I notice I am also tired after an hour in the virtual classroom, and realise I am really not used to applying myself in such a rigorous and accountable way, realising that this is also a good thing in an older guy, who in pleasing himself most of the time in calm waters, will never become a skilled navigator in the sometimes choppy seas of Portuguese conversation. On the other hand, feeling informed, empowered and confident as I sail into everyday encounters in my new country and second language, I (with the help of all my Portuguese teachers, formal and informal), anticipate a feeling of sun-kissed and breeze-blessed delight that Vasco da Gama must too have known as he voyaged into the unknown, like me, anticipating the glory he might discover there.
Sign up for Maria’s 30-day Portuguese challenge here – www.delightportugal.com
