Let us consider the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) difficulty ranking and how it can be related to Indian students learning Portuguese.
Foreign Service Institute has place Portuguese in category I languages which is considered to be an easy to learn language for native English speakers. As per this, it would need 24 weeks or 575 to 600 hours to learn Portuguese.
Though this is for native English speakers, we can relate it to Indian students as well. Most schools in India use English as a medium of instruction or teach English as a second language from a very early age. Thus, majority Indian students have exposure to English and most of them are well versed with the language. Thus, to a certain extent the difficult level of Portuguese as categorized by FSI may be considered for Indian students as well.
There are many other factors that play a major role in how fast an Indian student can learn Portuguese.
Experience with other languages.
Learning a new language can be easier for someone who is multilingual. Indian students might have an edge over others in this regard as most students speak at least two or three languages.
India is a land of diversity and this diversity can be found in languages as well. Thus, students learn their native language which they speak at home and English at school. The Indian government’s three language policy also creates space for learning a third language. Thus, most students acquire good proficiency in their native language and English.
This can help them learn Portuguese as both English and Portuguese have evolved from Latin and have many familiar words.
Many international schools encourage learning foreign languages as part of their curriculum and offer Spanish, French, Portuguese and many other languages as an option to choose from.
For someone who has learnt Spanish, learning Portuguese can be easy.
Time put into learning and practice
As a student, you have enough time to learn a language and practice it through various exercises, worksheets, role plays or even language clubs. Thus, you can put in enough time on a daily basis to consistently learn and practice Portuguese.
Students can form Portuguese language clubs where various activities pertaining to reading, writing, speaking and listening can be organized. Practising in a group allows you to clarify your doubts, learn from others’ experiences and share your experiences which can be very enriching.
Apart from your regular school learning, what can you do to improve your Portuguese learning?
As a student you probably have enough exposure to Portuguese language through lessons. However, you can supplement your learning with other resources which include both free and paid options.
There are many websites and videos available online that can help you supplement your Portuguese learning free of cost.
You can also join an online class in a group or as an individual and learn directly from a teacher.
Understand the different dialects such as the European and Brazilian dialect or learn the language.
Depending on whether you are learning Portuguese as a second or a third language in school, your proficiency may vary, however you can always continue learning further to reach the proficiency level that you want to achieve.
The proficiency level that you want to achieve which could vary from beginners to advanced level would also play a major role in deciding the time it takes for you as an Indian student to learn Portuguese.
The experience that Indian students have with multiple languages can always help them to learn Portuguese quickly and easily.
To learn Portuguese, you can also book a free demo session with Multibhashi.