Learning Portuguese
Do you want to finally become fluent in Portuguese and feel like a local in countries and regions where Portuguese is spoken? Find below a summary of my top recommendations for tools and resources that will help you learn Portuguese. I've personally tried and tested all of them and selected the ones that I found to be most effective, user-friendly, and fun. Mix and match them, and use 3 or 4 of them interchangeably to keep your motivation high and your attention span focused.
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This is my #1 recommendation for anyone starting to learn Portuguese or trying to improve their listening and pronunciation skills. The 30-minute lessons are easy to fit into your schedule, and they do wonders for pronunciation and speaking skills!
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: *****
Cost: $
This website and app have great short 10-15 minute videos and podcasts with lessons from beginner to advanced levels, flashcards, dialogues, grammar break-down, and vocab lists. Premium plans give access to a tutor for accountability and faster progress.
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $$
Rocket Languages has great audio content, comprehensive vocabulary-building tools, pronunciation training, solid grammar breakdown, and a steady path for progression. It's a pricier course and somewhat trickier to do on-the-go, but it's incredibly well-structured and effective.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ***
Cost: $$$
Learning a language successfully is impossible without interacting with native speakers and getting lots of speaking practice. This app gives you access to thousands of professional and community teachers, and you can book private online courses with them for as little as US$ 5 an hour!
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
This language school based in Salvador de Bahia in Brazil offers in-person and online courses with professional teachers and excellent teaching methods! Private classes with their instructors are very affordable, effective, and fun! They offer classes at all levels, so even beginner students can be at ease with speaking very fast.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
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Mondly is a fun game-style app that teaches you vocabulary through core words and phrases. The app breaks the learning process down into short lessons and puts them into themed packs. It has great visuals and is easy to use if your schedule is too busy for more structured or intensive courses.
Effectiveness: ***
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
This is my favorite podcast for learning Brazilian Portuguese. Its 15-20 minute episodes teach useful vocabulary, every-day phrases, grammar, and culture in a progressive and easy-to-follow way. There are dozens of episodes for both beginners and advanced learners. Virginia speaks very slowly, and she explains the content so well! She also has excellent courses on her website.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ***
Cost: -
This is my favorite app to train my memory and retain vocabulary in Italian. It uses spaced repetition system to help you remember words and phrases more effectively. It also has a great game-like interface, making this app a fun and exciting pass-time. And you can complete a session in as little as 5 minutes, making it very easy to practice your Italian on a break or during a commute.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $$$
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This fun app helps you learn languages with short stories, audiobooks, and music. It shows texts in two languages, side by side, so you can compare the two and learn the language in context. And all texts have audio narration! The texts go from fairy tales and news to science papers and novels, and new ones are added every week. You can listen to a native speaker narrate at your preferred speed (even with your phone locked or while offline) and take tests to assess your comprehension.
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
