At the end of 2019 I decided that it was time to get serious about learning Portuguese. I was really hoping to leave this language until I could spend a period of time in Brazil, and learn the language Scott Young and Vat Jaiswal style. In the end, like most things I decided that this wasn’t going to be feasible, and if I left it for the future then it simply wasn’t going to happen. So as with Spanish and Chinese I decided to organise my Portuguese resources and get learning. One massive advantage is that I have already learnt Spanish to a high level, and Portuguese is very similar. This has led to an amusing battle with Portañole or Spanguese where I tend to blend Spanish vocabulary with Portuguese vocabulary which can lead to some rather amused Portuguese speakers.
As with my Chinese and Spanish pages I will introduce the tools that I have found to be super useful to learn Portuguese.
Duo Lingo: A perfect place to start when looking to learn any language. At the time of writing this, the Portuguese tree on Duo Lingo is quite advanced and has everything the beginner needs. They also have stories in Portuguese, which is great for learning longer texts. I have recently started listening to the English for Portuguese speakers pod cast, Duo has yet to release the counter version for this. Having said that, with the English for Portuguese speakers the announcer uses native level Portuguese to commentate the English story and there is actually quite a bit of Portuguese spoken.
WhatsApp: This has been worth its weight in gold. I was on Face Book looking through the Portuguese groups for resources, when I came across a WhatsApp group invite. This has been fantastic, the group is populated by many people from around the world who would like to learn Portuguese, and many people from Brazil who would like to learn English. WhatsApp allows you to leave voice messages and videos for the group members. In this way you can have conversations with multiple people in your target language. I have found that once you join one group, and if you are an active participant, you will get invites to other groups. Some groups are well structured, where they allocate certain days to particular languages so that everyone gets a fair turn to learn and share, other groups are simply a free for all. Both have their advantages, and are a great way to get plenty of practice.
Tandem: This is another great little resource. It allows you to connect with language learners from around the world to share and practice each other’s language. Tandem also has group features where you can listen in and join in in group discussions on a wide variety of topics.
Italki: With Italki you can either organise a professional teacher, a community tutor or a language exchange partner for yourself. The professional teachers cost a little more than the community tutors and the language exchange partners are free. If you are using a professional teacher or a community tutor, Italki takes care of the time differences, the scheduling and the payment once you have completed your lesson. I would recommend signing up and talking as soon as possible, even if you give yourself a script to start with.
Some Great Youtube channels
These guys interview people on the streets about a wide variety of topics. This is a great way to hear some authentic Portuguese. I usually listen to these while I am doing the dishes.
This guy is awesome he started his channel back in the covid days of 2020. This is a great way to get some exposure to Portuguese from Portugal
A great resource with a stack of interviews tips and other learning resources.
Speaking Brazilian with Virginia
Another fantastic Youtube Chanel I especially like the Vlogs that she produces when out traveling around.
The main thing to remember that learning a language takes time, I have been working on my Portuguese since 2019 and I still have stacks to learn. The most important concept is to get started and keep going. I believe that you can do it!!
blakeridler.com 