Helen is looking for an adventure holiday in a faraway country, one thing worries her is the language, how can she learn the basics within a short time? Neil has an idea.
Neil
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Neil.
Helen
Hello everyone. I’m Helen.
Neil
I saw you looking at a travel magazine earlier. Are you thinking about a holiday?
Helen
Yes, I have actually booked a holiday in the Amazon rainforest.
Neil
Really, that sounds amazing. When are you going?
Helen
In a month’s time, I’m really looking forward to it. Have you been there?
Neil
No to the rainforest, but I’ve visited Brazil with my friends. It’s a beautiful country. Can you speak Portuguese?
Helen
No, not at all. I was hoping English is enough.
Neil
Erm, if you are visiting the big cities, you can get by with English. But out of the cities, it’s good to know a bit of Portuguese and about the local culture.
Helen
Oh dear, I am hopeless with languages. They are so difficult to master and take years to learn. I don’t have years. I’ve got weeks to sort out my adventure.
Neil
Don’t worry, you can go on a crash course.
Helen
What course?
Neil
A language crash course! When you are on a crash course, you learn about something in a very short period of time.
Helen
But will it work for me?
Neil
Well, that depends on your learning ability. I think you’d master the basics without any trouble. Here are a few more examples of crash courses on offer:
Examples
Peter applied to train as a teacher, but he had to complete a compulsory crash course in maths first.
Alison did a crash course in French before her trip to Paris.
I booked Nathan on a video editing crash course, so we’ve got at least one person who can operate the camera.
Julie took a crash course in cooking to prepare for her wedding.
Helen
Can you recommend a Portuguese crash course for me?
Neil
Just have a look online, there are loads of them and some of them are free.
Helen
Perfect! Thanks Neil!
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