SLLT, Vol. 1, 2001
LANGUAGE BACKGROUND, METHODOLOGY IN AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING PORTUGUESE AS A SECOND LANGUAGE BY EXPATRIATE SPOUSES IN BRASILIA

Tracy Ware

OBJECTIVES OF QUESTIONNAIRE

To investigate:

HOW TRIALLED AND CHANGES MADE AS A RESULT OF THE FEEDBACK.

I trialled the questionnaire on 4 friends (who are wives of diplomats) and then asked them if they thought any questions were confusing or if the options given for answers were sufficient. If I had trialled more than this I may have run out of enough subjects to survey!

THE RESPONDENTS

The questionnaire was administered to 22 non-Brazilian women, 20 of whom are married to foreign diplomats and two who are married to foreign businessmen, all on medium to long term postings in Brasilia, Brazil.

ADMINISTRATION

The questionnaires were distributed at three ladies’ social functions, where all but three questionnaires were answered at the time of distribution.  Three respondents completed it at home and returned it to me at the following function. I included a letter of transmittal explaining why I had developed the questionnaire and why I was interested in them as subjects. I received positive comments at the time about how interesting it was and how they wanted to know the outcome of the questionnaire.

I restricted the number of questions and used mostly multiple-choice questions and ratings of absolute values to measure attitudes and frequency of behaviour. This is because the respondents are usually busy at these functions and I thought I would have a greater response rate if the questions were fewer and easy to answer. Also, as many of the respondents are non-native English speakers, I wanted to try and make the questions easily understandable and unambiguous by using relatively simple English. I chose to distribute the questionnaire at such a function because the postal system is unreliable and post offices difficult to get to. Also, because all the subjects live in very different areas of the city, it would have been very difficult to deliver the questionnaire without a car.

Results attached.

CONCLUSIONS

  1. With regard to their language background, considering the variety of nationalities represented, I was surprised that nine of the respondents said that English was their first language.

  2. As all the respondents have studied at least 2 or more languages, it indicates that they have had some interest or motivation in learning languages in the past. As most of the respondents are older, I would assume that they have accompanied their husbands on several other postings overseas. As accompanying spouses, they probably would have had the time and opportunity to study the languages.

  3. Portuguese as the most commonly studied second language is not surprising considering that they are now living in Brazil. However, as all respondents intend to stay for more than 2 years and 90% consider it is important or very important to know Portuguese while they are living in Brazil, I was surprised that only 68% said that they had studied or are studying Portuguese now. Even though I did not ask if they had ever studied Portuguese, and so cannot be sure that they did not study Portuguese after arriving in Brazil but are not currently studying, answers to question 8 indicate that only 15 of the 22 have ever studied Portuguese.

  4. The higher self-rating of ability in English as a second language is not surprising either as English is now considered to be an international language and so is the ‘diplomatic’ language. I believe that in the past French had been considered the language of diplomacy and perhaps this is also shown in the knowledge of French by just over 30% of the respondents.

  5. The knowledge of Spanish with a relatively high ability rating could be because many diplomats are sent to countries in similar geographical locations, as the diplomat is seen to be a specialist. This may be so in this case as most of Latin America is Spanish-speaking.

  6. The main reasons for studying Portuguese (Q13) were confirmed by answers to the question of frequency of use in different situations. (Q16). The main reasons for studying were mostly that they considered it necessary to know Portuguese while living in Brazil and because it is necessary for day to day life. The highest frequency of use was shown for day-to-day activities and for social functions, to which most diplomatic spouses are expected to attend.

  7. As the respondents are in Brazil as dependent spouses, their need for Portuguese for business purposes is much less. There is a greater need for shopping, communication with domestic staff, negotiating, seeking and providing information.

  8. The lack of use for children’s activities may be because 60% the women are older than 46 years old and so do not have school age children living with them in Brazil. In postings to countries such as Brazil (considered to be hardship postings), as children reach high-school age, parents tend to send the child for education in their own country or to the United States or Britain or Australia.

  9. Of the respondents studying Portuguese now, just under half were studying by themselves and the rest studying with a teacher. I would consider that the amount of funding of formal lessons by the home government would be an important determinant in how many hours a week classes are taken and indeed whether or not classes are taken at all.

  10. Ease of learning Portuguese seemed to be influenced by the respondent’s existing knowledge of other Latin based languages, motivation and perceived ability for languages. Of the four macroskills, the majority of learners felt that reading was easier than listening and speaking and that writing was the most difficult skill to learn. Reading written Portuguese seems easier to understand because of the similarity of many words to English which all of the respondents have either studied or have as their first language. However, the various idiosyncrasies of the language make composition of well-written Portuguese difficult - as is the case in most languages.

  11. Regarding the expected use of Portuguese after leaving Brazil, as mentioned in point 5, specialist diplomats are often sent to countries in the same geographical area or of similar cultural background and so 41% believed that they would probably or definitely use Portuguese again. The 27% who didn’t know reflects the uncertainty of diplomatic life in not knowing where the next posting may be. The 32% who think that they may not or definitely will not use Portuguese again may be on their last posting, as indicated by the older age group studied. Also, the number of countries which have Portuguese as their national language are few and so the probability of being posted to one of these countries maybe fairly low.

All in all I was quite pleased with the results of the questionnaire as I feel that I have met my objectives to a high degree. I would have liked to include more questions about provision of language training by home governments for spouses and officers. Also, questions about the number of and location of previous postings may have given me more information about attitudes towards language learning in general and a history of posting patterns.

I think that the subjects experience a lifestyle which is quite different to that of an ‘average’ wife and that even though they are from many different cultures and backgrounds, do have many shared experiences and attitudes because of the nomadic lifestyle they lead.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Dear Colleague,

I am currently taking a course in education at an Australian University.  For part of the course I have to design a questionnaire about something I am interested in, then ask people to answer it and write a report on the results.

Here in Brazil, I am very interested in the language background of non-Brazilian women, especially wives of diplomats or businessmen who are living here in Brasilia for a limited period of time (one to four years usually). Also, I am interested in how and why they learn Portuguese. I would be very grateful if you could spend a few minutes completing this questionnaire to help me with my studies.

Thank you

Tracy Ware

All Answers Will Remain Confidential

  1. What is your nationality? ..................................................

  2. What is your age?
    less than 25 25 to 35 36 to 45 more than 45

  3. How long have you lived in Brazil?
    less than 1 year between 1 and 2 years between 2 and 3 years 3 years or more

  4. Why did you come to Brazil?
    Husband’s job - diplomatic Your job - diplomatic Other (please specify) ..............................
    Husband’s job - business Your job - business Other (please specify) ..............................

  5. How long will you stay in Brazil?
    less than 1 year between 1 and 2 years between 2 and 3 years 3 years or more

  6. What is your first language?
    English Japanese French German Portuguese Other (please specify) ..........
                                          

  7. How many other languages have you studied? ..................................................

  8. How you would rate your speaking ability in each language?
    Language poor fair good very good
    .................... .......... .......... .......... ..........
    .................... .......... .......... .......... ..........
    .................... .......... .......... .......... ..........
    .................... .......... .......... .......... ..........
    .................... .......... .......... .......... ..........
    .................... .......... .......... .......... ..........

  9. Did you study Portuguese before coming to Brazil?  Yes / No

  10. If you did study Portuguese before coming to Brazil, did you study mostly by (a) taking classes or (b) studying by yourself? (Please circle one)

  11. Are you studying Portuguese now? Yes / No (if NO please go to question 13)

  12. If yes, please indicate how many hours a week. (approximately)
    Study method Hours per week
    classes ....................
    self-study ....................

  13. What do you think are the main reasons for studying Portuguese? (Circle one or more)
    (If more than one, please rate in order of importance; 1 is most important)

    Importance
    _________ I enjoy learning languages.
    _________ I think it is necessary to know how to speak Portuguese while living in Brazil.
    _________ My husband wants me to learn Portuguese.
    _________ It’s necessary for my job.
    _________ I want to be able to make new friends.
    _________ I need it for my day-to-day life.
    _________ I want to know more about Brazilian culture.
    _________ Other (Please specify) ..................................................

  14. How difficult has it been for you to learn Portuguese?
    (Please rate from 1 to 5 how difficult it has been for you to learn: 1 = easy, 5 = very difficult)

    Speaking 1 2 3 4 5
    Listening 1 2 3 4 5
    Reading 1 2 3 4 5
    Writing 1 2 3 4 5

  15. If it has been easy for you to learn Portuguese, please tell me why.

    ....................................................................................................

  16. How often do you use Portuguese here in Brazil?
    (Please rate from 1 to 5 : 1 = never, 3 = sometimes, 5 = always)

    at social functions (with friends, parties) 1 2 3 4 5
    for day-to-day activities (shopping, banking, doctor, etc) 1 2 3 4 5
    for business (going to formal functions, at the office etc) 1 2 3 4 5
    for children’s activities (school functions, playgroups etc) 1 2 3 4 5
    other (please specify) .............................. 1 2 3 4 5

  17. How important do you think it is to know how to speak Portuguese living here in Brazil?
    not important a little important important very important

  18. Do you think that you will continue to use your Portuguese when you leave Brazil?
    Yes, definitely. Yes, probably. I don’t know. No, maybe not. No, never.

Thank you very much for your cooperation and time in completing this questionnaire.

RESULTS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE - RAW SCORES

Number of Respondents: 22

1. What is your nationality?

American 1 Bangladeshi 1
British 3 Korean 1
Pakistani 2 Indian 1
French 2 Mexican 1
South African 2 Filipino 1
Japanese 4 Malaysian 1
Surinamese 1 Egyptian/Dutch 1

2. How old are you?

less than 25 0 25 to 35 2
36 to 45 7 more than 46 13

3. How long have you lived in Brazil?

less than 1 year 4 between 1 and 2 years 7
between 2 and 3 years 6 3 years or more 5

4. Why did you come to Brazil?

Husband’s job - diplomatic 20 Your job - diplomatic 0
Husband’s job - non-diplomatic 2 Your job - non-diplomatic 0
Other.......... 0    

5. How long will you stay in Brazil?

less than 1 year 0 between 1 and 2 years 0
between 2 and 3 years 4 3 years or more 18

6. What is your first language?

English 9 Urdu 3
Japanese 4 Korean 1
French 1 Spanish 1
Afrikaans 1 Tagalog 1
Dutch 1    

7. How many other languages have you studied?

1 language 0 2 languages 10
3 languages 7 4 languages 2
5 languages 3    

8. How you would rate your speaking ability in each language?

Language poor fair good very good Total
English 1 6 3 3 13
French 3 1 1 2 7
German 4 1 0 0 5
Portuguese 3 11 1 0 15
Spanish 2 4 3 0 9
Sotho 1 0 0 0 1
Danish 0 1 0 0 1
Latin N/A 0 0 0 1
Italian 0 1 0 0 1
Malay 0 0 1 0 1
Tamil 0 1 0 0 1
Afrikaans 0 0 0 1 1
Arabic 1 1 0 1 3
Corsican 0 0 0 1 1
Dutch 0 1 0 0 1
Russian 0 0 1 0 1
Hindi 0 1 0 0 1
Urdu 0 0 0 1 1

9. Did you study Portuguese before coming to Brazil? Yes/No

Yes 4 No 18

10. If you did study Portuguese before coming to Brazil, did you study mostly by

(a) taking classes 4 (b) studying by yourself 0

11. Are you studying Portuguese now? Yes/No

Yes 11 No 11

12. If yes, please indicate how many hours a week. (approximately)

Study method \ Hours per week 1 2 3 4 5
(a) taking classes 3 3 0 0 0
(b) studying by yourself 1 1 2 0 1

13. What do you think are the main reasons for studying Portuguese? (Circle one or more)
     (If more than one, please rate in order of importance; 1 is most important)

Reason \ Importance rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I enjoy learning languages. 1 5 0 3 1 1 0
I think it is necessary to know how to speak Portuguese while living in Brazil. 14 1 2 0 0 1 0
My husband wants me to learn Portuguese. 2 0 0 2 3 0 0
It’s necessary for my job. 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
I want to be able to make new friends. 0 5 1 0 2 0 0
I need it for my day-to-day life. 3 6 7 0 0 1 0
I want to know more about Brazilian culture. 1 1 3 5 0 1 1
Other: I want to speak at least one other language fluently 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

14. How difficult has it been for you to learn Portuguese? (please rate 1 = easy, 5 = very difficult)

Speaking 1 2 3 4 5  
No. of responses 2 5 7 5 3  
Listening 1 2 3 4 5  
No. of responses 4 3 9 3 3  
Reading 1 2 3 4 5  
No. of responses 3 8 6 1 4  
Writing 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
No. of responses 2 2 3 6 8 1

15. If it has been easy for you to learn Portuguese, please tell me why.

knowledge of French or Spanish 4 have a knack for languages 2
people are friendly and easy to communicate with 1 enjoy learning the language 1
studied Latin grammar 1 had opportunity to practice at home 1

16. When do you use Portuguese here in Brazil?
     (please rate from 1 to 5 how often you use it: 1 = never, 5 = always)

social functions 1 2 3 4 5
No. of responses 1 7 4 6 2
day-to-day activities 1 2 3 4 5
No. of responses 0 3 5 6 7
business 1 2 3 4 5
No. of responses 5 4 6 1 2
children’s activities 1 2 3 4 5
No. of responses 8 1 3 2 0

17. How important do you think it is to know how to speak Portuguese living here in Brazil?

not important 2 a little important 0
important 11 very important 9

18. Do you think that you will continue to use your Portuguese when you leave Brazil?

Yes, definitely 2 Yes, probably 7
I don’t know. 6 No, maybe not. 5
No, never. 2    

Results

In addition to the attached raw data results, I will give a brief report on the findings, question by question.

  1. What is your nationality?
    Altogether there were 14 nationalities represented. The greatest number were from Japan with 4 (18.2%); 3 (13.6%) British, 2 each (9.1%) French, Pakistani and South African, and the other nationalities 1 (4.5%) each.

  2. How old are you?
    The majority of respondents 13 (59.1%) were over 46 years old. Next, 7 (31.8%) between 36 and 45 and 2 (9.1%) between 25 and 35 years old.

  3. How long have you lived in Brazil?
    The greatest number, 7 (31.8%) have been in Brazil between 1 and 2 years. 6 (27.3%) between 2 and 3 years, 5 (22.7%) for 3 years or more and lastly 4 (18.2%) less than 1 year.

  4. Why did you come to Brazil?
    20 (90.9%) respondents came to Brazil because of their husband’s job in the diplomatic service. 2 (9.1%) also for their husband’s job but not as diplomats.

  5. How long will you stay in Brazil?
    The majority 18 (81.8%) plan to stay for 3 years or more with only 4 (18.2%) planning to stay between 2 and 3 years.

  6. What is your first language?
    The most common first language was English with 9 (40.9%), then Japanese with 4 (18.2%), Urdu, 3 (13.6%), and 1 each of French, Dutch, Afrikaans, Spanish, Korean and Tagalog.

  7. How many other languages have you studied?
    10 (45.5%) have studied 2 languages, 3 (13.6%) 3 languages, 2 (9.1%) 4 languages and 3 (13.6%) have studied 5 languages.

  8. How you would rate your speaking ability in each language?
    Of the 19 languages studied, the most common second language studied was Portuguese with 15 respondents of which 11 considered their spoken ability to be fair, 3 poor and 1 good. English was the second most common language studied with 13 respondents.  The response was more positive with 3 very good, 3 good, 6 fair and 1 poor self-rating for speaking ability. The next most popular, Spanish, was studied by 9 respondents of whom 3 considered themselves good, 4 fair and 2 poor. Following that, French, was studied by 7 respondents, with 3 poor, 1 fair, 1 good and 2 very good ability. Then German, studied by 5 respondents, with 4 poor and 1 fair ability. Arabic studied by 3 respondents ranged from 1 very good, to 1 fair and 1 poor ability. The other languages, Sotho, Danish, Italian, Malay, Tamil, Afrikaans, Corsican, Dutch, Russian, Hindi, Urdu were studied by one respondent each with mostly fair and good abilities. The respondent concerned considered speaking ability in Latin inapplicable.

  9. Did you study Portuguese before coming to Brazil?
    Most respondents 18 (81.8%) had not studied Portuguese before coming to Brazil. 4 respondents (18.2%) had studied before coming to Brazil.

  10. 10. If you did study Portuguese before coming to Brazil, did you study mostly by: classes or self-study?
    All of the 4 respondents who had studied Portuguese before coming to Brazil had taken classes.

  11. Are you studying Portuguese now? Yes / No
    11 (50%) of the respondents are, and 11 are not studying Portuguese now.

  12. If yes, please indicate how many hours a week. (approximately)
    Of the 11 studying now, 6 (54.4%) are taking classes for one or 2 hours per week. 5 (45.6%) are studying by themselves ranging from 1 to 5 hours a week with 2 of the 5 respondents studying 3 hours per week.

  13. What do you think are the main reasons for studying Portuguese?  (Rating with 1 as most important)
    Given the ranking of highest importance, 14 (63.6%) considered the main reason for studying Portuguese to be the necessity of knowing how to speak Portuguese while living in Brazil. 3 (13.6%) needed it for day-to-day life and 2 (9.1%) because their husband wanted them to learn it. As the second most important reason, 6 (27.3%) needed it for day-to-day life, 5 (22.7%) because they enjoy learning languages, and 5 (22.7%) to make new friends. In the third most important ranking, 7 (31.8%) needed it for day to day life, 3 (13.6) to know more about Brazilian culture and 2 (9.1) because of necessity. The least most important reasons were 2 (9.1%) needing it for their job, and 1 (4.5%) to know about Brazilian culture.

  14. How difficult has it been for you to learn Portuguese? (rated  1 = easy, 5 = very difficult)
    The greatest number of respondents, 7 (31.8%) considered speaking to be of average difficulty, 9 (40.9%) respondents considered listening to also be of average difficulty, 8 (36.4%) considered reading to be easier than speaking or listening, and writing was considered by 8 (36.4%) respondents to be very difficult to learn.

  15. If it has been easy for you to learn Portuguese, please tell me why.
    Of those who considered Portuguese easy to learn, 5 out of 8 (62.5%) had knowledge of other Latin based languages or grammar. Other reasons included a knack for languages (2 of the 5 with Latin background), enjoyed learning (1), people were friendly (1) had the opportunity to practice at home.

  16. When do you use Portuguese here in Brazil. how often you use it: 1 = never, 5 = always)
    Use in social functions was fairly evenly distributed with 8 out of 20 (40%) never used or not often  used, to 8 (40%) who used it always or nearly always. 4 of them used it sometimes. Day-to-day activities brought a greater use with 13 (62%) always or nearly always using it. 5 (23%) used it sometimes and 3 (14%) used it less often. Business activities showed less use with 9 (50%) never used or not often used; 6 (33%) used it sometimes and 3  (17%) always or nearly always using it. Children’s activities showed even less use with 8 (57%) never used, 4 (28%) not often used or sometimes used; and 2 (15%) nearly always using it.

  17. How important do you think it is to know how to speak Portuguese living here in Brazil?
    Half (11) of the respondents considered it to be important, 9 (40.9%) very important and 2 (9.1%) not important to know how to speak Portuguese while living here in Brazil.

  18. Do you think that you will continue to use your Portuguese when you leave Brazil?
    Only 2 respondents (9.1%) each were certain that they definitely would or definitely would not continue to use Portuguese after leaving Brazil.  Most respondents, 7 (31.8%) said that they probably would continue to use it, while 5 (22.7%) thought that they may not use it and 6 (27.3%) didn’t know.

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