Portuguese log

[Rumcajs]

I started learning Portuguese about 6 months ago and still haven't learned that much. So I'm starting a log to track my progress (or lack thereof). I will be also learning English but not very seriously so it doesn't count. My only language goal is to complete all the Portuguese courses I found online by the end of the year, or preferably much earlier. That would be Duolingo, FSI courses, Tá Falado and some others. I will be doing this in 12 min sessions. I heard of the "pomodoro" technique but 25 min is too long for me, I can't stay focused for that long. So it has to be 12 min only. My first goal is to complete the Duolingo course. By completing I mean reaching level 5 in every skill. At the moment I'm at level 2 in most of them.

[zatris]

Bem-vindo e boa sorte com o português!

[Expugnator]

Boa sorte!

Feel free to ask around for any questions.

Can you tell us more about that Tá falado material? It's the first time I hear of it.

[fresh_air]

I started learning Portuguese about 6 months ago and still haven't learned that much. So I'm starting a log to track my progress (or lack thereof). I will be also learning English but not very seriously so it doesn't count. My only language goal is to complete all the Portuguese courses I found online by the end of the year, or preferably much earlier. That would be Duolingo, FSI courses, Tá Falado and some others. I will be doing this in 12 min sessions. I heard of the "pomodoro" technique but 25 min is too long for me, I can't stay focused for that long. So it has to be 12 min only. My first goal is to complete the Duolingo course. By completing I mean reaching level 5 in every skill. At the moment I'm at level 2 in most of them.

If I may suggest "Muito Prazer", I learned a ton from this course during my A1-A2 phase. The course is fairly cheap - I believe I purchased mine for around 30 dollars with audio. Muito Prazer hosts a website with worksheets online to accompany the material.

[Rumcajs]

Today I did only 4 sessions ca.12 min each, which is about 50 min in total. 238 XP on Duolingo.

If I may suggest "Muito Prazer", I learned a ton from this course during my A1-A2 phase. The course is fairly cheap - I believe I purchased mine for around 30 dollars with audio. Muito Prazer hosts a website with worksheets online to accompany the material.

Thanks for the suggestion but I have plenty of free materials to study.

Boa sorte!

Feel free to ask around for any questions.

Can you tell us more about that Tá falado material? It's the first time I hear of it.

It's a podcast in English on the differences between Spanish and Portuguese.

Bem-vindo e boa sorte com o português!

Obrigado.

[Rumcajs]

Today another 4 sessions (50 min in total). Now all the Duolingo skills are on level 2 or higher. Once I reach level 3 in all of them I will move on to the FSI courses.

To me Portuguese looks like an improved version of Spanish. It doesn't have all those unnecessary things like se, le, personal a, so the grammar seems to be easier. I also like the contractions (dele, nele, pelo, etc.)
Currently I'm learning Brazilian because all the materials I have are on the Brazilian Portuguese and also I don't know anyone from Portugal. But I want to travel there once the pandemic is over, so I'm going to learn European Portuguese at some point.

Time to write sth in the target language. Percebi que a minha capacidade de concentração deteriorou-se significativamente nos últimos anos. Como consequência, não faço muitas coisas durante o dia.

[iguanamon]

...Currently I'm learning Brazilian because all the materials I have are on the Brazilian Portuguese and also I don't know anyone from Portugal. But I want to travel there once the pandemic is over, so I'm going to learn European Portuguese at some point. ...

You don't have to "learn" European Portuguese. I've traveled for weeks in Portugal speaking Brazilian Portuguese with no problems whatsoever. There are many Brazilian immigrants in Portugal (and vice-versa). What will help you is to become familiar with how Portuguese is written and spoken in Portugal. You will need to be able to understand what is said to you in order to respond. So, listening to Iberian Portuguese will be important. They will have no problems understanding your Brazilian accent and grammar. It's the same language with big differences in slang but as a foreigner, you won't be expected be fluent in slang... and if you ask in Portuguese, they'll be happy to explain it to you. I never had any negative response over there to my Brazilian variety of Portuguese and was always understood.

[Rumcajs]

You don't have to "learn" European Portuguese.

Para mim, o português europeu é muito mais difícil de entender. Tem uma pronúncia muito estranha à qual não estou acostumado.

[iguanamon]

Você não está acostumado a ouvir o português de Portugal. Por isso é preciso aprender a ler e escutar usando uma transcrição de português ibérico. Tem muitos recursos disponíveis. Quando eu estava aprendendo o idioma usei os recursos do Centro Vritual Camões em Lisboa. Tem pequenos textos com áudio, mas tem que ativar "flash" no seu browser. Recomendo Era uma vez um rei e A Aventura dos Descobrimentos. As histórias foram desenvolvidas para crianças, mas são úteis para treinar a escuta- tem transcrição- mas as canções são muito irritantes.

Também, recomendo o site DW Learning by Ear/Aprender de ouvido. O site tem várias radionovelas com transcrição em pdf. Pode-se ler e aprender. Também tem a mesma no inglês. Pode-se fazer um texto paralelo/bilíngue para ajuda-lo entendê-lo melhor se fora necessário. Recomendo começar com Queres que te conte mais? Fábulas africanas para uma cultura de paz. Os episódios são de entre 10 e 15 minutos. O português é moçambicano, mas é muito parecido à pronúncia de Portugal e a gramática ibérica.

Por fim, aprende o português como você está fazendo, e ao mesmo tempo pode familiarizar-se com a versão ibérico. Então, vc pode acostumar-se a entendê-lo melhor. Apesar das diferencias na pronunciação e na gramática, é o mesmo idioma, verdade.

[jeff_lindqvist]

I can only confirm that the material Iguanamon recommends is perfect. I used it two years ago.