Describe something you did to learn a language

Band 6

I would like to talk about something I did to learn English when I was sixteen. At that time I wanted to study at a university abroad, so I needErro de tempo verbal: deveria ser “needed” to improve my English quickly. My teacher gave me an idea: watch a series with English subtitles, one episode every evening. I chose a comedy series about friends who live in a big city, because the language was very easyVocabulário básico; limita o Lexical Resource to understand and funny. I also wrote ten new words in a notebook every evening and tryErro de tempo verbal: deveria ser “tried” to use them the next day at school. I did this for about one year, thirty minutes every day, even on holidays. At first it was difficult because the actors talkErro de tempo verbal: deveria ser “talked” very fast, and I stopped the video many times. But after some months I canErro de forma modal: deveria ser “could” understand more and more, and one day I watched a whole episode without subtitles. I felt very proud and happy. It helped me to improve my listening and my vocabulary, and I am not afraidErro de tempo verbal e de lógica: deveria ser “and I was no longer afraid” to speak English now, because I learned that mistakes are normal.

Band 7

I’d like to talk about something I did to learn English when I was sixteen. At that time I was hoping to study abroad, so I needed to improve quickly. My teacher suggested watching a series with English subtitles, one episode every evening, and I chose a comedy about friends living in a big city because the language was everyday and easy to followFormulação natural e precisa. I also wrote ten new words in a notebook each night and made a point of using them at school the next dayExpressão fixa com complemento no gerúndio. I kept this up for about a year, thirty minutes a day, even on holidays. At first it was hard because the actors spoke so fast that I kept pausing the video, but after a few months I could follow far more, and one day I watched a whole episode without subtitles. That was the moment I realised the habit was workingSinalização clara que marca o ponto de virada da história. I felt very proud. It improved my listening and vocabulary, and, more importantly, I’m not afraid of speakErro de forma verbal: deveria ser “no longer afraid of speaking” English any more, since I learned that mistakes are a normal part of the process.

Band 8

I’d like to talk about something I did to learn English when I was sixteen. At that time I was hoping to study abroad, so I needed to improve quickly. My teacher suggested watching a series with English subtitles, one episode every evening, and I chose a comedy about friends living in a big city because the language was everyday and easy to follow. I also wrote ten new words in a notebook each night and made a point of using them at school the next day. I kept this up for about a year, thirty minutes a day, even on holidays. At first it was hard going, since the actors spoke so fast that I kept pausing the video, but within a few months I could follow far more, and one day I got through a whole episode without subtitles. That was the moment I realised the habit was workingSinalização clara que marca o ponto de virada da história, and I felt enormously proud. It sharpened my listening and widened my vocabulary, but what mattered most was that I stopped dreading mistakes, having learned that they are simply part of the processOração participial que acrescenta um motivo reflexivo de forma compacta.