Learning about other cultures while learning a language If you want to learn Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, German or any other language, the language groups at … Read More ›
Tag: Share Your World
We are told that one key to happiness is mindfulness, which is being 100% conscious of the present, living the moment without making any judgment according to past experiences or future expectations; and actively listening to your sensations. But what about imagination and the daydreaming nature of human beings?
Hi everyone! You may have seen our names pop up on your newsfeeds/discussion groups/emails from time to time, and now that we are leaving the SPEAK team, we thought we would finally introduce ourselves 😉
We are both languages students from the UK, who came to Lisbon to work with SPEAK this year as part of our degree. We never had experience of any kind in start-up projects, so as you can imagine…
In the busy world that we live in today, it can be very easy to get bogged down with the day to day, and to forget the positives not just going on in our own lives, but of the world around us. This week, we decided to recognise some of the little victories for SPEAK and the world. We hope they put a smile on your face!
Do you know how long the shortest reign was for a King in France? Which square in Madrid is the exact centre of Spain? Or which food the Belgians claim to have invented?
Situated just 25km, a short train ride away from the centre of Lisbon, Sintra is a perfect day trip from the city. Popular with both tourists and locals, this little town boasts various sightseeing opportunities at beautiful ancient monuments. Follow the winding streets to the town and all the way through the narrow roads up the hill, through the beautiful natural woodland to up to the highest point in Sintra to discover some of the most historically rich monuments set in the most natural and beautiful surroundings.
You may have noticed on our discussion groups and on our Facebook groups that we recently asked for our community’s help in voting on a new name for SPEAKs volunteer teachers, and you did not disappoint us! So, we would like to introduce, SPEAK Buddies! The new name for our wonderful volunteer teachers!
SPEAK is a project with aims to connect migrants, refugees and locals through a language and culture exchange programme. Through our sessions and through our events, we encourage our members to integrate and become part of our community, helping those without friends or family in Portugal to feel a sense of belonging in their new city. We have thousands of kind and generous members in our community!
Guess what? SPEAK has landed in Turin and the first set of courses is ready to start! Woohoo!!
I know, I know. We admit it. We might have got a little excited. Can you blame us though?
What you probably don’t know however, is the amount of great work and help that has been behind this SPEAK achievement. And, with the first few courses starting, the success of our very first event in Turin last month and the next one already on the go, what a better time to thank all our new friends!? Let’s meet them all!
The decision to learn a new language is normally quite an easy decision. Whether you want to be able to chat with the locals on holiday, find the closest good supermarket, or request a tax number when arriving in a new country, making the decision to learn is the easy part. The difficult part comes when you start to learn. Who knew it would be this difficult to speak German? Why does Portuguese have so many different tenses? How do I use the subjunctive in French?
Well, we are here to help! Since lots of the SPEAK courses have just began, and we have more starting in the next few weeks, we have come up with 10 tips on how to make your learning experience a bit smoother