The Buzz 🐝​ of Learning a New Language (or the Beauty of Phrasal Verbs #2 and My Journey in learning Portuguese ​🛣️​ )

I’ve always been a bit extreme when I take up a new activity, whether it’s sport, a diet or a hobby. Even when I was a pre-teen. I had an idol ​​​​🤩​ ​​ (the first of a few): Donny Osmond (WHO ​​❓), a young singer, and he took over my life. No, I’m exaggerating, but his posters certainly took over my bedroom. They were on every possible surface. I was heartbroken ​​​💔​ when I had to take them down to have the wallpaper changed ​​​​​😆​.

So, how did I take up Portuguese? It was a few years ago. I was going on holiday to Cyprus and in the airport, we had a few hours to wait before the plane took off ​​​​​​​🛫​. To kill time, I took out my phone, like everyone, and started perusing. At that time there was an application called “24 hours free” where a guy found interesting applications and negotiated with the developers to offer them free for 24 hours. It was the year of the Olympic games in Brazil, and I came across “Mosalingua Brazilian Portuguese” an innovative application for learning languages. I had always said that learning a language was for my students ​​​​​​🤭. (I was already an English teacher 🤓​​🎓​) I spoke French, but it had been easy as I had been living in France when I learnt the language, so I took it in like osmosis. But when I downloaded Mosalingua I took back what I had said. It was like a revelation for me, like a game, or a puzzle ​​​​​​​​​​🧩​ that you had to put together, take apart and put together again in another way to make sense. It was the first time I’d learnt a language from scratch, and I loved it ​​​​​​​​🩷​. I took to it immediately.

I did it everywhere and in all my spare minutes. Portuguese took over everywhere. On the beach ​​​​​🏖️​, at the hotel bar ​​​​🍹. I’m sure everyone took me for a geek 🤓 on my phone all the time. And I certainly didn’t stop when I came back from my holiday. What helped me I think was the fact that as I was a teacher I could see patterns between English and French, so I just copied the patterns and reproduced them with new words. And as I spoke French and it’s also a Latin-based language I could understand a lot of the vocabulary because it was similar.

The most important thing that took me through the early learning stages was my extreme motivation. There was a moment when I asked myself (like many learners) but why am I doing this? I loved it but was there any purpose in learning Portuguese? I mean, I couldn’t imagine going to Brazil, perhaps Portugal, geographically closer? I remember saying that to my sister and she was taken aback with my question because for her it was obvious. She said that it would help me see the world ​​​​​​​​​​​​​🌎​ through a different cultural lens. It would change the way I think and broaden empathy. It would help keep my memory sharp and learning a new skill would give me confidence, a sort of buzz 🐝 (there are so many reasons ​​​​​​​​😃​great idea for another article ​​​​​​​💡)​

Anyway, after a couple of months, Mosalingua proposed another application to take me further ​​​​​​​​​​​​💨​ and begin communicating with natives (all Brazilian in my case) who in exchange wanted to learn my language. Here my Portuguese really took off 🛫 and here also began my passion for Brazil and all things Brazilian. 🪇 🎉 🇧🇷⚽

I could go on for ages, but I don’t want to bore you ​​​​​​​​​​​😴​so, to cut a long story short, I was conversing in around 6 months and a year later I went to Brazil to visit. After this first visit I turned my life around, looked for work and took on a job as consultant in a Brazilian Language school which as well as being a challenge linguistically, completely revolutionized my way of teaching!

So, in conclusion learning a language isn’t just about words — it’s about opening doors. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​🚪​ Even if you never set foot in the country, it can change the way you think, the people you meet, and even the course of your life. That’s the real buzz of learning a language

Phrasal verbs with take
👉 As you can see from my Portuguese language journey, phrasal verbs slip naturally into both our speaking and our writing. Every phrasal verb has a more “formal” single-word equivalent that we tend to use in less casual situations, but in daily life and work, it’s far more common to hear phrasal verbs.

They are formed with a verb and a particle, which completely changes the meaning of the verb. Phrasal verbs can be tricky for English learners—they often don’t make literal sense, and just one tiny word can completely change the meaning.

👌 Did you understand the meaning of the phrasal verbs in the story from their context?
If not, here comes a list of them with a definition for each one (and a quiz as a bonus ​​​​🎁​ ).

📘 Phrasal Verbs in Context

Here are the phrasal verbs with take that appeared in my story, with their meanings:

• Take in – to absorb or understand information; to shelter; to make clothes smaller

  • “Phrasal verbs are a lot to take in 😊.”

  • “We took in a couple of stray cats when my kids were small.”

  • “She went on a diet and had to take in all her clothes 👗👚.”

• Take up – to begin a new hobby or activity

  • “I’ve always been a bit extreme when I take up a new activity…”

  • “So, how did I take up Portuguese?”

• Take over – to gain control or dominate

  • “…Donny Osmond… and he took over my life.”

  • “…his posters certainly took over my bedroom.”

  • “Portuguese took over everywhere.”

• Take down – to remove something from a higher position

  • “I was heartbroken 💔 when I had to take them down to have the wallpaper changed.”

• Take off – for a plane to leave the ground; to become successful quickly

  • “…we had a few hours to wait before the plane took off 🛫.”

  • “Here my Portuguese really took off…”

• Take out – to remove or bring something outside

  • “…I took out my phone, like everyone, and started perusing.”

• Take back – to withdraw a statement, admit you were wrong

  • “…so I took back what I had said.”

• Take apart – to separate into pieces

  • “…like a game, or a puzzle 🧩 that you had to put together, take apart and put together again…”

• Take to (something) – to develop a natural liking for an activity

  • “I took to it immediately.”

• Take on – to accept responsibility, a challenge, or a job

  • “…looked for work and took on a job as consultant in a Brazilian Language school…”

ℹ️NB: There are other meanings to these phrasal verbs. Above are the meanings in the context.

📝 Quick Quiz : Phrasal Verbs with Take (answers at the end : don’t peek too soon ! 👀)

Fill in the blanks with the correct phrasal verb from the box.
(take in – take up – take off – take down – take over – take out – take back – take apart – take to – take on)

1. The plane _______ at 3 p.m. and landed two hours later.

2. She _______ yoga last year and now practices every day.

3. We had to _______ the old posters before painting the walls.

4. The company was small at first, but it really _______ after it launched its new app.

5. He didn’t like jogging at first, but he quickly _______ it.

6. Don’t forget to _______ the trash before you leave.

7. I shouldn’t have said that — I _______ my words.

8. As a new teacher, she had to _______ a lot of responsibilities.

9. It’s a lot to _______ at once, so take your time learning.

10. Kids love to _______ toys to see how they work inside.

✅ Quiz Answers

1. took off

2. took up

3. took down

4. took off

5. took to

6. take out

7. take back

8. take on

9. take in

10. take apart

👋​ Just to finish ….

Phrasal verbs with take are everywhere in English. By learning them in context and practicing with real examples, you’ll start using them naturally in conversation. Keep an eye out ​​​​​​​​👀​ for take up, take off, and take over in your reading, listening, and speaking. With a little practice, these versatile expressions will soon feel like second nature!