We're a class of Brazilians studying English in Ireland. Ask us anything!

Are you gonna develop Irish accents when talking English?

Luiz (one part of couple):I haven't developed Irish accent yet, but we learn a lot of Irish expression like 'Thanks a million'.

Tanks a mill & cheers are forever stuck in my head from my semester abroad there

Tatiana: That´´´'s true, "Cheers" for everything! hahahaha

Aline: Yes, I think I have a little bit of Irish accent because it is just natural. I have been here for 1 year and 8 months.

That was going to be my other question, how long have yall been there?

I have been for a long time. :) Also I would like to stay more time. This country is amazing. 😁

Not them. But a related factoid here is that apparently Lenin had an incomprehensibly thick Irish accent, because that's how his tutor spoke.

Lorenzo: Interesting! We didn't know that.

Patrick (teacher): Some students say they want to "lose" their Brazilian accents but I don't think they should try to "lose" or "get rid of anything". Of course they have to try to have clear pronunciation but I like Brazilian accents!

Hoe have you been liking the cuisine so far?

Gabi: For me the Irish cuisine does not have a lot of variety. It`s good, but you can get sick of it very quickly. A lot of potatoes and bread every day... I`m getting fat hahaha

Any special dishes you liked? Also, the Irish cricket team made its test debut the previous week. Was there any excitement around where you live?

Tatiana: My favourite dish is bacon with cabbage!

How much do you miss Brazilian food?

Have you come up with some pretty interesting ways to make feijoada while you've been abroad?

I miss it a lot!! Once in a while someone brigs things from Brazil and sell it on Facebook. We also have the "Mercadinho" here in Cork, which is a Brazilian market, of course. There is a Brazilian cheff here who makes traditional dish from time to time. I've tried feijoada and vaca atolada, and they were very nice.

Gabi: I love the Irish Stew and of course the Irish Breakfast, but the last one I eat just on weekends. The rice pudding is really amazing too! About the cricket team, no one here in our class knew about it... in my host family they just like tennis and golf, so I really don't know anything about it.

How do you compare the cleaniness of air in Ireland compared to Brazil?

I am from Taiwan, but lived in Ireland for over 13 years, I went back for a visit a few years ago and I realised I never really appreciated how clean the air in Ireland really is, and in Dublin no less.

Aline: I came from a small town in Brazil, there the air is quite clean. But it is just because there are not many industries there whereas in big cities such as São Paulo the air quality is bad. But I couldn’t agree more with you the air quality in Ireland is pretty good.

Isn’t it totally awful to go from the brazilian weather to the irish weather? I always wondered what it is for people who migrate from tropical countries to these rainy cold countries

Gabi: That's the only thing I hate about Ireland! I could live here forever if the weather was nicer. It's so hard for me to deal with all this rain and wind... and sometimes it's freezing! Cold for me is under 20°C, so you can imagine how much I suffer here

Canadian reporting in: 5C is the start of T-Shirt and shorts weather.

20C is just a blissful summer day. By 24C you’re getting to damn hot and need to calm down!

In my city, it makes 25 to 35 degrees for almost 8 months, from October to May... That's my "normal" temperature, and I love it!

What's the craic!! What are your favourite Irish expressions and have you started using any of them?

Lorenzo: For me, at least, I wouldn't say it's a favorite, but more of a curious one: The fact that people here, instead of saying "bye" once while on the phne, they start a "bye" rampage! "byebyebyebyebye". Like, why?

Gabi: instead of speaking "fuck", some people here speak "feck". It is slightly more polite

Gabriela: To be honest, I don't really remember any Irish expression that I usually use, but they love saying "grand" instead of ok, great, no problem...

Luiz: In Cork city, people call you "boy" and "girl". It doesn’t matter how old you are. For example: "Thanks boy". Or sometimes even kid. For instance: "What's up kid?"

Is that the same concept as calling someone moco or moca?

Luiz: yes, kind of. The correct spelling is Moço or Moça, in Portuguese we have this c: ç

Tatiana: "Do you know what I mean?" - you'll hear this expression a lot and it sounds like a single word!

What has been the most difficult thing about the english language to understand? And how has the english you learned before going to Ireland been different to what you are learning now?

Lorenzo: The Irish accent(s), expressions, that kinda stuff.

Well, the difference between traditional English, the one I have learned, and the same language in this island so close to England is mostly getting what people talk about, or, like, regular stuff as mundane as understanding the person that works at Tesco when you ask "where the heck do I find cabbage?" and they just go all out cork-city-accent on your ass. Which generally ends in my face just being a living question mark, because some people here are as bad as Aussies when it comes to making your life miserable when trying to understand them.

What's the best way students can remember phrasal verbs? My students have the most trouble just using the appropriate ones. Also how can I teach the 'Th' sound in American English the best way so that my students can use them. Thanks in advance! Good luck in your studies!

Gabriela: About phrasal verbs, I think it helps when we learn the simplest and most used ones first, and then, when we have them memorised, we go for the "next level".

Lucas: I believe that the best way to remember phrasal verbs is to use them, but eventually we forget some that we don't use very often.

There's also a mobile game called Phrasal Nerds, although I haven't used it myself, I've been told it helps a lot!

Luiz: I prefer memorize list of them, it’s for me.

Gabi: for the TH sound, make sure your tongue is touching your top row teeth at the front. Some people put their tongue between the top row teeth, and other put it behind. Both are correct. The tongue should not touch the top of the mouth (palate).

Everyone in the class, including the teacher, runs for president. Who gets your vote?

To the musician: What instruments do you play? What genres of music do you like? (and no none of that, "I listen to anything I like" cop-out answers!)

To the vegetarian: I'm a vegetarian so it's cool to see what the landscape of vegetarian food is like overseas. What do you usually eat in Brazil and Ireland? Favourite dish? Favourite vegetable?

Tatiana: I'm the musician one! So, I've played the piano and the guitar since I was a child. As a Brazilian, I enjoy a good samba and bossa nova. Because the music classes I had done in the past, I started enjoying classical music as well. But to be honest what I'm really crazy about is rock'n roll. What I like the most are the classics as Led Zappellin, Deep Purple and Queen.

Patrick: Hi, I am the vegetarian. Being a vegetarian in Cork is great. There are loads of excellent vegetarian restaurants. There's one for all kinds of budgets. My Goodness (a cool market stall selling raw vegan food) and Cafe Paradiso (a very expensive but high quality restaurant) are my favourites but I can think of about 10 more. There are also lots of nice shops. Unfortunately the range of fruit and veg grown here can be a little limited and some things have to be imported. For instance I am crazy about bananas, avocados and aubergines and we import all of them from far away places.

In Brazil you can grow almost anything. I love the fruit there. I am from Ireland so I am not an expert on Brazilian cuisine. However, I did spend about 6 weeks travelling around the south and ate some delicious food. I mostly ate fruit. Watermelon, mango, açai, etc. I often ate basic dishes of rice and eggs with some tomatoes in restaurants. Unfortunately, most of the beans were cooked with meat so I couldn't have any. I love farofa too.

Wow that's really awesome. Has it always been this way, or would you say it's more a surge in interest in vegetarianism that has led to so many food options?

Patrick: There has definitely been a recent explosion in interest in and demand for vegetarian food. About half of the veggie restaurants just opened in the last two or three years.

Tatiana: My vote goes to Patrick because I don't trust Brazilian politicians! I choose an Irish President! 😂

Why did you choose to live in Ireland instead of the UK or America for this class?

Ireland has an education visa programme compelling to those wanting to avail.

Luiz: it’s true, we can study and work part time during our visa time in Ireland. The student visa here is called “Stamp 2”.

Hey there! A good friend of mine is moving to Dublin from Braganca Paulista in November. Any advice for a Brazilian who is looking to settle down in Ireland? :)

Luiz: The best advice I can give to him is good luck 🙃. He should come with his mind open and enjoy the city and make friends, because in November start to become darker and darker.

Vocês poderiam dar algumas dicas para outros brasileiros que desejam melhorar a pronunciação em Inglês? E o que vocês estranharam quando chegaram Irlanda, comparado a cultura brasileira?

Luiz: sorry, I don’t want to be rude, but could you write in English.

Some people could be interested in your question.

Could you give some tips on how to learn pronunciation? And what did you think was weird when you arrived in Ireland (compared with the Brazilian culture)?

I'm not really sure if this is an accurate translation of my question but it will do the job.

Luiz: People can have a culture shock at the same moment that you arrive here, because all sign is bilingual (English an Irish), people are pale and shy, the currency is different and the products prices are as well. We like to celebrate more parties than Irish people, however the like party and holidays too.

My advice is open your mind, make friends and you should find you accommodation as fast as you can because here it is tough to find one bedroom 😎😂👍🏻

What's the biggest cultural difference between Brazil and Ireland? What made you think 'why the hell do you do it that way?' when you first encountered it?

Tatiana: Driving on the left! 😂

Lucas: some women here have fake tans on their legs, and it's really weird for me because they have really white skin and only their legs are orange!

Lorenzo: Orange women, skirts being used in freezing cold nights, the weird fact that every single teenager has the exact same haircut and a weird affinity with tracksuits. Like... Irish gopniks? Young people here seem to lack personality or some sense of identity. I've got long hair and those fellas look at me on the street like "What's his deal?"

How do you feel about the number of Brazilians in Ireland? I know if I went to another country and saw so many Irish people I would kind of be disappointed, as I would like that experience to be something far away from my homeland.

Know what I mean?

Gabriela: Sure... I think everyone thinks like this before coming. I used to say that I would not make Brazilian friends, so that I would not speak Portuguese. But then I realized that speaking some Portuguese sometimes won't be that bad. Of course we have to be focused and make friends from other places as well. We're always helping each other, like for find house or job, what's very good.

How do you guys like Gabrielle? Because I don't.

Gabi: No Nutoka for you

Gabriela: Who said we like her? Hahah I'm just joking, she's very nice 😁

Gabi: I'm not liking the direction of this conversation hahahahaha

How do you porra caralho?

Luiz: Bad words

Tatiana: Bad language and bad grammar!

What does the world think about Brazilians, and what do Brazilians think about Brazilians?

Gabi: unfortunately, some guys think Brazilian girls are quite "easy"

Lucas: I believe that people think that Brazilians are mostly happy and friendly, whereas most Brazilians I meet here focus on our flaws, like politics and some social issues.

Tatiana: The world thinks that we live in a big carnaval party or we keep swimming on the beach in a kind of holiday that never ends!

How do you feel about the English pronunciation of the letter R?

Lucas: I'm already used to it, but it was difficult for me to learn the pronunciation. Some parts of Brazil, like São Paulo, on the other hand already use that same sound in Portuguese, so it might be easier for them.

Gabriela: For me it's a trick one. Usually we tend to pronounce it as we do in Portuguese, especially when it's in the beginning of the word, like remember and relax. I don't even realize when I do that, so for me it's good to have someone who is always remaining me about it.

Gabi: I live in a city near São Paulo, and our accent is known as "hillbilly" by the other states... our R is very similar to english, so for me it is easy

Hey, a cousin of mine just arrived in Ireland for the same thing! How long have you guys been there?

Gabi: I have been here for 3 months almost :)

Como tem sido as coisas ai? Quais as maiores dificuldades?

hehe, aqui a família está toda preocupada com meu primo! Mó saudade já

A galera ai, em geral, tem perspectivas de ficar mais tempo no país?

Sei que foram meio "grandes" as perguntas, então podem responder o que quiiser

Just in English guys, please!

Have you ever seen a ghost?

Tatiana: Yes for sure! You will find one in Cork City Gaol or in Spike Island in Cobh! ;)

Are any of you from Recife? What do you think of Naçao Zumbi?

Aline: No, the majority of us are from São Paulo or cities nearby. Lucas is from Espírito Santo and Gabriela is from Bahia.

How many Guinness have you had today?

Gabi: Any bottle because is still early... I can answer you later with a different score hahaha

Tatiana: I don't remember! We are still drunk!

Olá! Were you prepared for the difference in climate or did you have to make adjustments once you were in Ireland?

Gabriela: if you have a waterproof jacket, you're prepared haha I knew that the biggest problem is the annoying rain, but to be honest, it's not as bad as I had thought before coming. It's very cold (at the least for me) in winter, but there's heater everywhere. Now it's summer and it's great! It's bright until 9 or 10 pm.

Have you been traveling around there? What places would you recommend to visit? I've got a trip booked for July.

Lucas: I arrived here recently so I haven't traveled that much, but there are some astonishing views in The Ring of Kerry near Glengarriff!

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What?

Our friend Chris, who works at the school, does BJJ. He trains at Irish Martial Arts Studio which is a great place.

Boa tarde! Eu estou aprendendo Português. Devo aprender Português Brasileiro ou Europeu? O que mais fácil ou mais  útil?( Sorry if that's not perfect, I'm finding European very hard!!)

Aline: You are doing well. Your Portuguese written is pretty impressive. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

McGregor vs RDA. Who wins and why?

Hopefully RDA. I think he might have the edge because he is better if the fight goes to the mat but it is a tough one to call. I would love to see them fight. I will definitely be cheering for RDA in his fight against Covington.

Since you guys are fairly fluent in English but still learning, what are things that native speakers can do or not do that makes understanding and communicating easier?

Lucas: My main issue when I got here was that people talk really fast, it took me quite some time to get used to it.

Did you just try to pick out key words in order to understand?

Gabriela: it depends on the person who you're talking to. Usually, for me, it is still almost impossible to understand everything, so it's essential to identify some key words and the context.

missing the sun already?

Gabriela: We missed it for a long time. But now it's great, incredible 17 degrees and a very sunny day.

Tatiana: I've been missing the sun since the day I arrived here on the 26th of May 2017.

Ae, brasileiro também aqui! Tenham muito sucesso nessa jornada na Irlanda!

As a sports fan, is soccer popular in Ireland?

Aline: Yes, soccer is popular here although if I compare to how we are crazy about soccer in Brazil, the Irish people are not that crazy about.

Cabe mais um? Hahah

Tatiana: We don't recognize Portuguese! In English, please! 😂

Sorry, hahah. I've asked if there's any room for another one.

Of course there is room! Come and join us. :)

My jiu jitsu coach is from Brazil so I'm very familiar with the accent.. But I can't imagine and Brazilian-Irish accent. Any chance you guys could make a video so we can hear how your English is coming along? Obrigado!

Gabriela: Wow, that's a good idea! 😀

I like that idea too!

Whats the story ? How's the form ?

All good.

Morning glory? (reference)

Do you know that Gabrielle isn't spanish?

Gabi: OMG, you told the world my secret

English can be a tough language to learn, what tools helped you with understanding English? My friend's mom is trying to learn English through games, any online games or phone apps you recommend for an older generation?

Duo Lingo is the most popular but it is probably only good to get started. BBC Learning English is a fantastic website.

Tatiana: Netflix is absolutely useful for me because I can watch movies with audio and subtitles in English. It helps me a lot with pronunciation and spelling.

Is that more than a billion??

Luiz: 200 million

Do any of you have those cool teacups with straws they have in South Brazil? Is there much cultural differences between the north and South of Brazil?

Luiz: Yes, a lot of differences. I am originally from southeast of Brazil and I can’t understand their Portuguese sometimes. The difference could be found in several cultures such as food, arts, clothes and human features.

Gabi: as you said, this is pretty common on the south of Brazil. if you visit the north and the south, you may think that they are even different countries! The weather, the food, the accent (some words too), the economy, mostly everything vary each part of Brazil. But I have to say they are both wonderful in their own way!

Sou brasileiro também! Tenho interesse em fazer um intercambio, poderiam dizer quais as vantagens/diferenças da Irlanda pro aprendizado do Inglês?

Tatiana: We don't recognise Portuguese! Just in English, please!

What is your main goal of learning English? Im from the Netherlands myself and my sister lives for 3 years in Rio. Pretty funny she is teaching English there. I have been to Brazil a few times to see my sister but barely anyone spoke English.

Aline: Unfortunately you are right, just 2% of our population is able to speak English. Although the young Brazilian generation have studied English, because nowadays it’s a essential skill even when we don’t want to live abroad. Answering your question I think the desire of all of us is becoming fluent in English.

Gabi: in the old days, English was seen as a plus to get a job. Today, however, having fluent English is a necessary requirement for almost any job in Brazil. Because is the most importante language in the world, is very important for us to speak the best english we can. Also, all the tests to enter in universities (we call this exam "vestibular") have some questions in English. Last, we need english to travel, to communicate with people from other nationalities, to listen to foreign songs and to watch foreign movies...

Aline: Whereas in Netherlands the majority part of population speaks English. Luiz and I, I am the another part of the couple, we had been in Utrecht for 3 months before we came to Ireland. We just learnt some words in Dutch but we could communicate really well in English when we were there.

How long did it take you to understand the grammar of calling yourself a "class of brazilians" without having to specify you're talking about people? Most English learners would say "a class of a thousand people" or "a group of billions of students" but it takes a more advanced level to understand you can just say dozens, brazilians or any other number without specifying that you are talking about people.

Also, oi de Fortaleza.

Luiz: Thuba

Is it okay to make jokes about 7-1 now?

Gabi: NO! We will never forget about it :(

Aline: As far as I know the Brazilian team won a World Cup in Germany. Also the last game was between Germany and Brazil. 😂😂😂

Tatiana: Are you German? 🤔

Does every Brazilian plays futebol?

Definitely not hahah I'm not even interested in this.

Definitely not hahah I'm not even interested in football. Ah, and it's the same about carnival!

Tatiana: Yes, absolutely! I broke my friend's leg once at school... I was a really, really good player! hahahahaha

Why is Brazil so terrible at sportsmanship?

I've never seen a more unsportsmanlike audience during the world cups and Olympics.Truly shameful. Throwing garbage at, and actively booing, oposing teams.

Luiz: we are nice, but we’re very competitive and also emotive.