# Apart from engaging with the locals, and the obvious route of taking lessons....



## Nick-San (Aug 2, 2016)

... does anyone have any suggestions about learning Portuguese? 

By which I mean would anyone recommend a specific online system, or a particular text book, or anything else useful?

I'd really like to be able to have a decent conversation in Portuguese and be able to at least understand the gist of all those un-translated online Portuguese websites that I need to visit to complete all the relocation formalities.

Thanks in advance!

Nick.


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## smudges (May 2, 2013)

I would think having TV and radio on would help.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Watch children`s television programmes


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## sangerm (Apr 4, 2014)

*Some suggestions...*

Some suggestions.

1. Online - I have found this website the best for listening (which most people seem to find hardest?) as they do two run throughs of the material - one slow and one at normal speed.

www.practiceportuguese.com

This is specifically aimed at European portuguese and is more intermediate than beginner. You can listen for free but if you want to transcripts etc you need to join for a modest fee.

Also, for grammar, try Professor Jason on Youtube. I did GCSE back in the UK and I think that this guy's explanations are very good.

2. Lessons

Look up tradutex.pt - Helena is based in Lagos (so near you) and is very good and very reasonable. If you don't want to drive to her she does Skype lessons.

3. TV - Buy a Eur 15-20 indoor aerial and connect to your TV and auto tune. You will pick up RTP1, 2 and 3 and SIC and TVi. 

4. Pickup kid's school books in the supermarket or bookshop. These are normally graded by age so start with a low number and work your way up. 

5. Have some fun with some of the language quizzes on Sporcle - Trivia, Quizzes & Brain Games

6. Be patient - it's a very hard language to learn and it will take a very long time to make progress. Be prepared to go back and learn/re-learn some of English grammar to make any sense of it.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

I found Duolingo very useful and it is free. The only downside is that it is Brazilian Portuguese rather than European. It hasn't posed any problem so far though.


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## andycastle (Mar 30, 2015)

https://pptonline.acm.gov.pt/ 

Its free as well


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## Bazoo (Apr 25, 2015)

Moving out tomorrow permanently , these suggestions will be very useful


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## sangerm (Apr 4, 2014)

*Other Tips...*


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## kctraveler (Oct 10, 2016)

I agree with JohnBoy. I like Duolingo. That's how I started learning Spanish, until I moved to Portugal.


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## grammymissy (Jun 21, 2009)

https://www.practiceportuguese.com/




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## bill t (Nov 11, 2014)

We bought many books but the best in our opinion are a series called Aprender Portugues, Portugues para estrangeiros, authors are Carla Oliveira & Luisa Coelho.These are available from Leyaonline ,we ordered and they were delivered in two days, the lady who teaches us is a retired schoolteacher and she uses them.I agree with others that duolingo is very useful even though it is Brazilian, as long as you are aware of the differences, good luck, ( hope i haven't broken forum rules by mentioning a website)


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## BabsBoyle (Oct 25, 2016)

Listen to Portuguese radio, watch Portuguese TV. You won't understand it to start with but it will gradually rub off on you. Would be quicker to take lessons though ... I am signing up for the University of Coimbra's 3-week intensive beginner's course in February. They do another 3-week course in September, and a 5-week course in June/July. Very good value, only 325 euros tuition fees for the whole three weeks.


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## Maineniac (Oct 6, 2016)

I'm not living in Portugal yet, but we are planning on retiring there within a year or two. I am learning Portuguese from various sources on the internet. The best one for me is learnPortuguesewithrafa.com. I also have the app Speak and Translate (Apalon Apps) and it has been very useful. If you get the app, please purchase the upgrade so you don't have to deal with all the advertisements; it's worth it.


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