CassidyTitchenell

CindyPires
Portuguese1
May31,2016

Portuguese1EOCReflection

Portuguese1hasexposedmetoanumberofnewexperiences.Throughouttheduration
ofthisclass,IhavebeenexposedtoaforeignlanguageandculturethatIwasnotusedto.Ihad
toendurethechallengeofadaptingto,understanding,andrecognizingthedifferencesbetween
theEnglishlanguageandthePortugueselanguage,grammaticallyandcommunicationwise.
WhiletakingPortuguesehasbeenastruggleformeattimes,especiallywhenwewerelearning
aboutconjugations,suchasacabarandgostar,Iamstillgratefulfortheoverallexperienceof
becomingcompetentinthelanguage.Myfavoritepartoftakingthiscoursethisyearwassimply
beinginit.IamgladthatIwasabletobeexposedtoanewlanguagewhichallowedmetogrow
academically,aswellassocially.
IntermsofusingthePortugueselanguage,astrengthofmineisbeingabletoproperly
conjugateverbsandmemorizingtheverbconjugationcharts.Thisyear,wehavelearnedhowto
conjugatemainlyverbsendinginar,butrecentlylearnedhowtoconjugateverbsendingin
erandiraswell.Sincetheverbsfollowasimilarrulewhenitcomestoconjugation,Ihave
beenabletoeasilyunderstandthelessonsandrecallcertainruleswhenconjugatingtheverbs.
Despitebeingabletorememberverbsandhowtoconjugatethem,Ihavecontinuously
struggledwithmemorizingalargeportionofthevocabularyinthePortugueselanguage.From
thebeginningoftheyearwehavebeenreceivingnewvocabularywordsineverylesson,
meaningthatthereshouldbedozensofwordsthatIhavemastered,however,thisisnotreally

thecase.(Afewvocabularywordsintroducedinvolvefood,greetings,descriptions,
transportation,destinations,numbers,classroomobjects,andmore).Whilethereisafairamount
ofwordsIhaverememberedinPortuguese,thereisalargeramountofwordsthatIhave
forgottentheirtranslationand/orspelling.AsanEnglishspeaker,Iserveatadisadvantageat
timeswhenitcomestounderstandingthePortugueselanguagesinceIamunabletomake
connectionsbetweentwoforeignlanguagesregardinggrammar,communication,and
vocabulary,likesomeofmyfellowpeers.WhileIamnotabletodirectlymakeconnections
betweenEnglishandPortuguese,Icontinuetotrymyhardesttomakecertainlinkstofurther
developmyunderstand.
Throughoutthecourseofthisyear,therewasanumberofprojectscompleted.One
projectinparticularthatwasmyfavoritewastheEsplanadaSkit,wherewehadtoworkwitha
partnertocreateaskitinPortuguesebetweenawaiterandacustomeratanoutdoorcafe.The
skitincorporatedgreetingsandvocabularyfromourfoodunit.Thewaiterhadtointroduce
themselves,(Chamome),andaskthecustomerwhattheywanted,(Comopossoajudarlhe?),
wherethecustomerwouldthenstatetheirorderandthankthewaiterfortheirservice.The
customeralsohadtoaskforthecheckandpayfortheirmeal.Formyproject,Iworkedwithmy
partnerusingmynotesandformerknowledgefrompreviouslessonstocreateascript.After
completingthescriptandgettingitcheckedbyCindy,mypartnerandIrehearsedmultipletimes
toensurethatweexecutedasolidperformance.Aftereveryoneintheclasshadperformedtheir
skits,weatePortuguesefoodsbroughtinbystudents.Thisprojectwasoneofmyfavoritessince
itallowedustheopportunitytopresentourknowledgeinacreativeway(acting)andexposedme
tonewfoodsIhadneverhadthechancetotastebefore.

Personally,IbelievethatIhavecontinuallyaddedaspiritofinquiryandpersistence
throughoutthecourseofthisclass.DespiteonlyknowingaportionofthePortugueselanguage
andhavingpoorpronunciationattimes,Ihavecontinuedtoputforthmybesteffortstobenefit
theclass,aswellasmyself.Ihaveneverconsideredmyselfaspontaneousleaderinclass,
however,Iwouldidentifymyselfasasilentleaderwhorepeatedlyarrivedtoclassontimeand
preparedwithpropermaterials,alongwithapositiveattitudeandopenmind.EventhoughIdo
notknowmuchaboutthePortugueselanguageandamlearningmyself,Ihavecontinuously
helpedthoseinneedofassistancewithclassworkandhomework.IfIdidnotunderstand
something,Ioftenadvocatedformyself,provingmycommitmenttomyeducationand
willingnesstolearn.
Intheend,takingPortuguese1thisyearhasnotbeeneasy.Ithasbeenademanding
challengeformeduetothenumberofdifferentvocabularyandrules,yetIhavepersisted
througheachchallengeduetomysolideffortsandendeavor.Despitetheendlessamountof
difficultiesIhavefacedthisyear,IlookforwardtoattendingPortuguese2nextyeartoenhance
myknowledgeinthePortugueselanguageandculture.