How I did it: Well in 2002 my family moved to Lisbon, Portugal. I was 13 at the time and knew only a few words of the language. It was a bit of a scramble and since we couldn't afford a private english speaking school I went to public schools and pretty much had to learn as I went (cause how am I supposed to take a history test if I can't even understand what's on paper?)

It was difficult and I had a few set backs and bump in the roads, but I grasped it pretty quickly along with the help of my mother's side of the family who are all portuguese.

Now I only ever speak english when online haha. Everyone important in my life is portuguese, so I kinda have no choice :p

Lessons & tips: Learning to pronounce the words can be a pain, living here and being in constant contact with others who are fluent really helped shake off that "foreigner's accent" I had. If you don't have the chance to immerse yourself like that, then find a skype buddy who you can talk back and forth with to help you out.

Mar 13, 2012, 09:00AM PDT | 0 comments | 8 cheers