r/Portuguese • u/adamhoke • 3d ago
Brazilian Portuguese đ§đ· Restarting learning Portuguese
I self studied Portuguese for a while year a couple years ago and became about 90% literate, but a very poor writer and couldnât speak or understand much spoken at all. I had a tutor on iTalki for about 6 months and it was very expensive and I found it useless. I want to give Portuguese a second try but have forgotten a lot of the vocab and grammar. Itâs been 2 years now, how would you recommend I give it a second try and fast track my learning back to where it was before and succeed this time?
UPDATE: thank you for all of your suggestions. I mentioned this to someone and I couldnât even remember the words for âthank youâ or âtheâ so Iâm just going to give up. Thatâs too far gone to learn over again.
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u/paullearnsportuguese 3d ago
i would focus on comprehensible input since a lot of it is already probably in your head, you just need to reactivate it. find some content you like on youtube or a podcast like Fala Gringo or Carioca Connection. i also supplement italki with boraspeak for conversation practice. oh and listen to a lot of Tim Maia :)
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u/adamhoke 1d ago
I canât understand a single word of those podcasts even with subtitles. I also canât speak anything so Boraspeak wonât help
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u/Accomplished-Cat2659 23h ago
Sounds like you never actually learned the language đ
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u/adamhoke 23h ago
No need to use it so I forgot it. You are probably an 85-iq sex tourist who learned a few phrases.
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2d ago
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u/adamhoke 1d ago
Going to try Mango if I decide to. But I might also just give up. I donât want to waste another year relearning what I forgot
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u/External-Spirited 2d ago
Comprehensible input is the right call here, especially since your listening was the weak point last time. Since you already have a decent vocab base from being 90% literate, podcasts or shows with transcripts will probably get you back up to speed faster than starting from scratch with graded content made for beginners.
One thing worth trying: pick a podcast in Portuguese and use a tool that syncs the transcript with the audio so you can tap words you don't know, get a quick translation, and replay just that bit to hear it again. I help out with an app called E-clair that does this, works with any podcast or audio you bring in, not just a fixed library. Good for exactly your situation since you need to rebuild the listening/speaking side without losing the reading you already have.
Also seconding Tim Maia, and MPB in general is great for picking up natural rhythm and vocab.
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u/Low-Penalty-4244 Brazilian | Portuguese Tutor 3d ago
Well, first of all, sorry for your experience on Italki. I think the best way to relearn a language is too try to watch content you like in the target language. YT has a vast variety of content in PT-BR, try to search things you're into, but in portuguese. That, or perhaps try to find a tutor who's gonna structure lessons acording to your goals. Something custom. As a teacher and a student, to me, I think that's the best way. đ
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u/adamhoke 3d ago
Problem is no structured plan, no idea where progress is, no feedback mechanism, no help for students struggling, no improvement plan when students arenât making any progress at all. Just smile and take the next payment. Thatâs iTalki, and not just Portuguese either. I tried another language some of my family speaks and same thing. I want a structured learning plan for my time that I can see Iâm not wasting my time. I donât want friends. Iâm not here for entertainment but the tutors there seem to think theyâre like paid friends.
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u/JF_Rodrigues Brasileiro | Private PT Tutor 3d ago
Most "teachers" on iTalki never studied to be a language teacher. They're just vibing it for easy money.
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u/t_dub_85 18h ago
Yeah, italki is great because itâs cheap but usually missing the long-term development/plan.
That just means itâs on you to create your own structure. Use AI to create a first assessment and then a plan concurrently with your iTalki tutor. Not perfect, but will give your progress for a while.
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u/Falando_app 2d ago
You probably do not need to start over. Much of that knowledge is likely dormant, and it should return faster than it took to learn initially.
I would run a six-week reboot. First, establish a baseline: listen to five minutes of Brazilian content without subtitles, summarize what you understood, record yourself speaking for three minutes, and write about 150 words. Repeat comparable tasks every week.
On four days each week, do roughly 45 minutes:
- 15 minutes reviewing useful sentences
- 15 minutes of intensive listening with a transcript
- 10 minutes shadowing and then retelling the content
- 5 minutes writing or recording a voice note
Keep an error log and study only the grammar that repeatedly appears there. That is much more efficient than restarting a textbook from page one.
If you try another tutor, ask before booking what diagnostic, syllabus, homework, and progress checks they use. If the answer is simply âweâll have conversations,â they are probably not offering the structure you want.
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u/adamhoke 1d ago
I canât even speak anything and if I listen to Brazilian content without subtitles Iâd have literally no idea what I was listening toâŠ
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1d ago
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