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Portuguese Lessons in Sydney

In Sydney, there’s a community of 20,459 people that speak Portuguese as a native language. Although 19% of them were born in Australia, the majority were born in other countries. In fact, according to the 2016 census, 45.5% come from Brazil, 28.1% from Portugal and the rest come from places like East Timor, Mozambique and Angola. According to the 2016 census, in recent years there has been a 36% increase in the number of Portuguese speakers in the city, due to the big influx of immigrants from Brazil and Portugal. As a result, the Portuguese language in Sydney is more alive than ever, and the various Lusophone cultures are celebrated across town all year round in the many events and festivals held by these foreign-born communities. If you attend any of these celebrations, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in these wonderful cultures and connect with the portion of the local society more deeply.

However, the best way to truly understand them is to learn their language, as the Portuguese language reflects the values and beliefs of the cultures where it’s spoken. On top of this, if you choose to become a proficient Portuguese speaker in the city, your overall experience in Sydney will improve, as you’ll get access to better jobs and be able to expand your social life to include people from all over the world.

Why Study Portuguese in Sydney?

Learn Portuguese for Work and Travel

Portuguese native speakers can be found in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, so if you choose to learn the language, you’ll be able to take advantage of the unique opportunities that the Lusophone business world offers. What’s more, because Brazil and Portugal are countries with strong economies, you’ll become an asset to local companies in Sydney that want to expand there or are trying to improve their professional relationships with multinationals located there, especially if you can speak business Portuguese. On top of this, if you have your own business in the city, you’ll be able to attract Portuguese-speaking customers more efficiently or enhance your relations with Portuguese-speaking employees.

If you’re planning on travelling to any of the beautiful locations where Portuguese is spoken, being able to communicate fluently will allow you to understand some of the cultural differences and break down possible language barriers that prevent you from truly connecting with the locals. Learning the language is particularly important if you’re planning on moving to a Lusophone country, as it will make your life there much easier.

Learn Portuguese for Social

In Sydney there are many events that celebrate the wonderful Brazilian culture. Many are organized by the Brazilian Community Council of Australia, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote Brazilian culture in the country and showcase the many talented Brazilian artists and performers that live in Australia. Among their most well-known events is the Rhythm Brazilian Day, which takes place at Tumbalong Park in Sydney, and offers incredible live music, delicious Brazilian food and even a cultural village where you can enjoy the best Brazilian art.

Additionally, if you’re interested in other Lusophone cultures, you can’t miss the annual Arraial do Bracca, where you’ll get the unique chance to enjoy performers from Portugal, Angola, East Timor, São Tomé and Príncipe and, of course, Brazil. This amazing festival, which takes place in June every year at the Sydney Portugal Community Club, located at 100 Marrickville Road, is a perfect place to take part in traditional dances, meet people from all over the world and immerse yourself in the Portuguese language.

Learn Portuguese for Culture

If you’ve been learning Portuguese for a while and want to check how good your skills really are, why don’t you attend one of the local language exchange events? The OH Yeah! English & International Language Exchange, for example, is a great place to have full conversations in Portuguese with natives and help them out with their English. The main purpose of this group is to connect people from all over the world and help them improve their conversational skills, learn about other cultures and make new friendships. This vibrant community of language enthusiasts is one of the biggest in the city and organizes weekly events at The Shark Hotel, located at 127 Liverpool Street. After you pay the $2.50 admission fee, you’ll be placed at a table with other Portuguese speakers according to your language level, and once there you’ll get to enjoy wonderful conversations in Portuguese and English with your new friends.

Where to learn Portuguese in and around Sydney?

Do you want to expand your knowledge of Lusophone cultures? If so, you should pay a visit to the Town Hall Library Express, located at 456 Kent Street, which has many interesting books on the matter. If you’re interested in learning more about popular music in Brazil, a great book you should consider reading is Hello, Hello Brazil: Popular Music in the Making of Modern Brazil, by Bryan McCann, which explores the flourishing of Brazilian popular music between the 1920s and the 1950s. On the other hand, if you want to feel transported to Angola and Cape Verde, there’s a compelling novel by Paul Theroux called The Last Train to Zona Verde, with wonderful descriptions of these countries and their communities that will make you want to visit them as soon as possible.

After reading any of these books or the many others you can find at the library, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the different cultures where Portuguese is spoken, which will inspire you to learn the language. The best way to do so is with a help of a qualified teacher, who can help you become a fluent speaker quickly. If you’re wondering where you can find the best tutors in Sydney, the answer is Listen & Learn.  Whether you want to learn Portuguese to expand your business or to travel, just send us a quick enquiry and we’ll have one of our native teachers create a completely personalised Portuguese course just for you!

The type of courses we offer:

Face-to-Face 1-to-1 (Individual) General Portuguese

Portuguese lessons of this type are broader and are aimed towards students with a variety of requirements. While all beginner level students will cover survival Portugueseneeded for short visits to countries where English isn't widely spoken, or if you wish to 'go local'those studying Portuguese usually go in different directions at this point, depending on what they need. Those who have benefited from these Portuguese classes have been those investing in or buying property overseas, those married to overseas nationals, people setting off on a round-the-world trip, enthusiasts for Portuguese culture and those hoping to pass a specific exam in Portuguese. Enquire now about our Portuguese Courses or Take A Free Portuguese Level Test

Face-to-Face 1-to-1 (Individual) Business Portuguese

Portuguese lessons of this type are aimed towards those that need to learn Portuguese to aid them with their employment. For those just starting out, it is integral to learn basic greetings and business etiquette. Reading and writing can be adopted once the simple precepts are out of the way. Success has come from students who are involved in the import/export business, international negotiations and acquisitions, those seeking jobs in multinational companies and those working with foreign colleagues, academia and bureaucracy. Even our most basic lesson for beginners will have the student finishing the lesson with basic telephone/e-mail skills in Portuguese, as well as survival Portuguese should a short stay in the country is needed. Enquire now about our Portuguese Courses or Take A Free Portuguese Level Test

Face-to-Face Closed (Private) Group General or Business Portuguese

Lessons in Portuguese are also accessible for 2 or more studying in tandem (Two-to-One Portuguese Lessons or Small Group In-Company Portuguese Lessons). All those involved must have around the same experience of the language, similar needs for areas of proficiency, and must be able to work at the same time and place. Bookings must be made for all students at the same time. Listen & Learn does not advise classes of more than 6-8 people, although In-Company Taster Portuguese sessions can be run with as many as 12 people. Enquire now about our Portuguese Courses or Take A Free Portuguese Level Test

Skype, Google Meet or Zoom Online 1-to-1 (Individual) General or Business Portuguese

Our native-speaking qualified Portuguese teachers can instruct you and your group at your work or at home at a time most convenient for you. Classes can take place on any day of the weekeven weekendsmorning, afternoon or evening. If meeting at your office or home is not suitable, you can take your lessons at the trainer's office. Study materials are supplied for you. Enquire now about our Portuguese Courses or Take A Free Portuguese Level Test

Skype, Google Meet or Zoom Online Group (Closed or Open) General or Business Portuguese

Those wishing to learn Portuguese in groups of two or more together (Two-to-One Portuguese Lessons or Small Group In-Company Portuguese Lessons) can sign up for our group classes. All students must be at nearly the same level of Portuguese proficiency, have the same needs from the language and be able to study at the same time and place as the others. Bookings must be made for all students simultaneously. Listen & Learn does not propose group sizes of more than 6-8 people, but In-Company Taster Portuguese Lessons can occur with up to 12 people. Enquire now about our Portuguese Courses or Take A Free Portuguese Level Test

Top Tips For…

portuguese Songs

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Sozinho- Caetano Veloso

Caetano Veloso is a prolific Brazilian artist that produced jewels like Sozinho. This is a great song for beginner and intermediate-level students of Portuguese looking to increase their vocabulary and improve their listening comprehension while listening to beautiful, catchy songs. Sozinho (in English, Alone) talks about being alone but not lonely and urges listeners to take advantage of the time you have available to get to know yourself better, so it has a great message. Plus, you’ll pick up some words related to moments of the day like noite (the night), de manha (in the morning) or meio dia (noon). Listen to the song here!

portuguese Songs

Mas que Nada- Jorge Ben Jor

Jorge Ben Jor’s top hit is Mas que nada, a great song that is useful to practise your Portuguese skills and learn new vocabulary in context. Beginners will certainly benefit from this song because it’s sung using the present simple tense and doesn’t use complicated structures. Also, you can pick up some very common expressions, like tudo legal (everything is OK) or bom dia (good day). This song will also help you improve your pronunciation, as the singer has a clear accent and sings relatively slowly, allowing you to mimic the sounds easily as you sing along! Sing along to this romantic song!

Aquarela- Toquinho

Toquinho is a bossa nova and pop composer from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who produced great music, like Aquarela, a song to put your Portuguese into practice. The song speaks about the poetic persona’s childhood, who remembers beautiful moments he spent with this family. So, it’s a great track to learn the colours, like yellow (amarelo), red (vermelho), blue (azul) and green (verde). The pace is slow and it has a catchy rhythm, so you will not only learn the language, but also you’ll brighten your day! Listen to the song here!

portuguese Youtube Channels

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Virgínia Fonseca

Are you looking to improve your European Portuguese skills and take your pronunciation to the next level? Then, Virgínia Fonseca’s channel might be a good option for you. She records vlogs about lifestyle and travel, so you will get to see a lot of beautiful places in Portugal while you learn more about their culture and traditions. For example, her most popular video is called “My first airplane trip” (primera viagem de aviao), where you can learn how to name different parts of the plane, luggage (malas) and the trip itself (a viagem), as well as other expressions that are useful for travelling! Subscribe to the channel here!

portuguese Youtube Channels

Rezende Evil

If you are looking to have a good laugh and improve your Portuguese at the same time, then Rezende Evil is the channel for you. The content is related to TV shows, movies, and celebrities popular in Portugal today, so in addition to studying the language, you will learn more about the culture. For example, you will find commentaries about La Casa de Papel (Money Heist), a Spanish series that became famous in Portugal. Most of the videos are captioned and include little to no slang, so you can subscribe to this channel whatever your level, even if you are a beginner. Subscribe to the channel here!

Hello Rusty

If you are a beginner or intermediate-level student of Brazilian Portuguese looking for real-life, motivating materials to improve your language skills, you should subscribe to Hello Rusty’s YouTube channel. The owner is a Brazilian teacher with years of experience teaching Portuguese to English speakers and she provides invaluable tips about how to improve in a painless way. Browse through the playlists and you will find videos related to grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and other crucial aspects of Portuguese. You will also learn some other skills while acquiring the language, such as how to make a delicious feijoada or brigadeiro. Subscribe to the channel here!

portuguese News

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Jornal do Brasil

If you would like to know what is going on in Brazil while improving your language ability, Jornal do Brasil is a great resource for Portuguese students. This website is updated every 5 minutes and features news about Brazil and South America, categorising the articles into different topics (politics, economy, international affairs, art, sports, etc) for easy navigation. If you are an advanced-level student of Portuguese, you will surely enjoy the opinion (opiniao) section, where you can find long-form articles by journalists and professionals analysing any and all events. These articles are usually accompanied by videos, so you can put your listening skills into practice, too. Click here to learn more.

portuguese News

RTP Notícias

Take advantage of online resources and keep up with the news in Portugal while you improve your reading and listening skills and learn new vocabulary. For example, you can tune into RTP Notícias, a free website that streams the Portuguese news all day long. The presenters speak in a clear, articulated manner, so intermediate and advanced learners who are already used to the Portuguese pronunciation and cadence will not have any problem understanding what they are saying. And if you decide to watch previously broadcasted news, you can turn on captions, which is great for beginner students who need some support. Click here to learn more.

Folha de Sao Paulo

If you are looking to hear the news in Brazilian Portuguese and put your listening skills into practice, Folha de Sao Paulo is a great website. It has hundreds of news articles about politics, economy, and other aspects of Brazilian society, although it is more suitable for advanced students. The articles are long (typically, more than 600 words) and feature an in-depth analysis of what is going on in this giant South American country. The only downside is that there is a paywall, meaning you can only access 2-3 articles per day for free. Click here to learn more.

Testimonials

From our clients all over the world

"I am really enjoying working with Maria. She's taught me the differences between my family's island dialect and continental Portuguese, which has been amazing."
Kelly Faria

Portuguese course in Basildon.

"My teacher is just brilliant! I'm very impressed and happy."
JoJo Fabian

Portuguese course in Brighton.

"I am enjoying the lessons with Anna. So far so good!"
Catherine Mukutuma

Portuguese course in Peterborough.

"My Portuguese classes are going well. I’m pleased to say that I feel I have a strong foundation on which I can build my skills."
Catie Henley

Portuguese course in Online.

"The lessons are going great – Camila has good understanding of my learning style and her teaching style works well. She also covers some history behind the language which is good part of understanding Brazil and ..."
Manjeet Jheeta

Portuguese course in Crawley.

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Vivienne Ferguson Greek in Sydney
I would absolutely recommend Listen & Learn to others. I am sure that if someone has a flair for languages and is committed, they could learn the language fairly quickly

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From our clients all over the world

Ansaldo STS Australia
Language learned: French in Melbourne.

APHS
Language learned: German in Brisbane.

SGS Australia Pty Ltd
Language learned: English in Perth.