Portuguese from the dish pit, with Karim Haddad
Chef Karim Haddad learned Portuguese washing dishes in a Lisbon restaurant with no classes and no apps. He and Ines pick apart what worked, what hurt, and what any learner can copy.
Why your streak is lying to you
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Show notes
Streaks versus speaking
In this first episode Ines looks at the most common habit among adult learners, the daily five-minute app session, and asks what it actually builds. She shares what twelve years of classroom work taught her about the difference between recognising a word and being able to use it under pressure.
- The three stages of knowing a word, and why apps only test the first
- A weekly routine for people with 20 minutes a day, not two hours
- Why speaking badly early beats speaking well late
- The one mistake a day rule and how to log it
Next episode: a guest who learned Portuguese entirely inside a restaurant kitchen.
Transcript
Hola, and welcome. My name is Ines Castellanos Roig and this is Borrowed Tongues, the show for adults who want to speak a second language, not just tap at one. Today we are starting with something a little uncomfortable: your streak. You know the one. 212 days, little flame icon, very proud. And yet when a waiter asks you a question you freeze. I want to explain why that happens, and I promise it is not because you are bad at languages. We will talk about the three stages of knowing a word, I will give you a weekly routine that fits into 20 minutes a day, and at the end there is a short listening exercise, so keep your ears ready. Grab your coffee, or your tea, and let's begin. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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