Tip for communicating with non English speakers?

I have become friendly with the mum of another child at my son's nursery school and her son will be moving up to the same primary school as my son after Xmas so I'm likely to have loads of contact with her. She's very nice. Only problem is her first language is Portuguese (she's from Brazil) and her English does not seem to be very good, and my Portuguese is non existent.  At first I thought maybe she understood more English than she speaks but it's become apparent from her responses to things I've said that she's not understanding a lot of what I'm saying.  Apart from trying to speak slowly and clearly and avoiding using complicated phrases, does anyone have any ideas about how to make conversation easier? (Please don't say 'learn Portuguese!!'  )

I'm going to be no help here, but I'm going to say maybe use lots of hand motions?

I agree with the hand motions as well as talking slowly and simplifying what you are saying. Also, don't be shy about asking her if she understood what you were saying or if she knows a specific word that you used. I know people laugh about the speaking slowly thing, but I really makes a big difference when you do have a strong proficiency in a language.

Do you know if she is studying English?

I don't know if she is studying English in any formal sense.  Good idea about asking her if she understands something ... I haven't been doing that so far because I didn't want to seem rude but you're right I probably should.

I agree to ask her if she understands.  This can seem condescending in some instances but from the sounds of it, she wouldn't take it the wrong way.  Some people are too embarrassed to ask you to repeat yourself or admit they didn't understand out right...but they would be willing to say "No I didn't understand this word" if you specifically asked them. 

Learn Portuguese! 

No really, if you can establish that she isn't understanding something you are saying - the hand motions is a good idea, like pointing to something, etc.  It could open an opportunity for you to learn some Portuguese too if you can explain the English word or expression for something, and she can tell you what the Portuguese would be.  It's a cool dynamic if you can manage it. 

Patience, laughter, simple sentence structure.  My second year of univ I had a dormitory roommate who was Brazilian & we had so much fun together - her English wasn't very fluent when she first got to the US.  Sometimes upon waking, she would start speaking to me in Portuguese & I would be so confused! 

IIRC...Do you understand? = Você entende?

If she doesn't understand something try saying it a different way or phrasing it slightly different.  Or using a different word.  Don't be afraid to define a word either.  Also, there's nothing wrong with correcting her if she's using a word wrongly a lot.  It'll help her understanding.

You could also look in a book shop for a picture book organised by topic (food, feelings etc.) with pictures - maybe in a language section? My sister bought a book like that before moving to Asia and it saved her a few times before she was able to get a functional grasp of Japanese.

Also second what's already been said: short, simple sentences, and use visual cues: cups for 'do you want a drink' and so on, for example. And an English - Portuguese dictionary for emergencies!