Training methods/order

What would be a good method of using Practice Portuguese to get the most out of it?

Study units first, then Verbs, then Podcasts? Mix it up?

Any help here with a good study method greatly appreciated

THanks!

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I also would like to know this! The amount of material available in Practice Portuguese is just about overwhelming, and a recommended strategy or order from the PP staff would be much appreciated! :upside_down_face:

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Haha, I’m sure each one of the team members has some thoughts on how to make the most of all the resources, but in the end, there is no single recipe for this, because every user has their own needs and learning styles. Personally, before adding my own contributions, I would actually love to hear what’s been working for all of you so far and brainstorm together on this :slight_smile:

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I must agree that the sheer amount of content available here is mind boggling (in a great way)! What I tend to do is focus on the units, and then once I’m done with a unit, do the verbs associated with it as I do the lessons in the next unit. Every Sunday, I try to cover the revision lessons of the previous units, and do a podcast or two. I’ve found that this helps me out, but I’m curious as to what other learners do too.

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Glad to know that you are interested in hearing what works for us, @Joseph. I agree with @pruthvishk, that the amount of material is great! When I first started PP, I began with Unit 1 and went forward. Then, because I was preparing for the CIPLE, I stopped going unit-by-unit and tried to jump to specific units that I thought would help. Now, I am going back to where I left off on the Units and intend to progress along that path. Even if a unit seems “easy,” I still learn and review things I already know. In general, I would prefer to know that I am following a well-structured path that will remember where I left off and guarantee that I go through each unit completely. I want to know that I have eventually followed the path of the units to the very end! When I deviate from this path and take a look at all the podcasts, the verbs, etc., I tend to get overwhelmed and discouraged.

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There are so many good ways you could go about it, but here’s one idea:

  • Work through the units in order. Before each one, go through the “featured verb” section for that unit and study the conjugations. After every 3 units or so, look back and redo a few lessons to get them closer to 100% accuracy (and as a quick review).

  • Start with the beginner level Shorties, just focusing on one per day. Play it over and over, listening both with and without the transcript. Play around with it: read it out loud, try to memorize it, cover up the Portuguese and see if you can translate from the English, make a note of any expressions that are useful to you, find a friend to read through the dialogues. If they still feel hard, keep working on the same Shorty until you feel comfortable with it. If they get too easy, move on to the medium level Shorties.

  • Listen to the Podcasts when you’re on the go or just play one in the background while you eat breakfast or clean. You don’t need to understand every word. Just use it as an opportunity to get some exposure to the language.

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I just started using this site to learn Portuguese with no prior experience. When should I start using the shorties, podcasts and videos? I am only at Os Fundamentos 2, lesson 1.

Obrigado!

Bill

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Olá @wchvrs, and welcome! There are many ways in which you can explore all the different resources at Practice Portuguese. Personally, I think it’s a good idea to mix things up as much as possible from very early on. Maybe the previous posts in this topic will give you some inspiration :slight_smile:

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Welcome, @wchvrs! I agree with @Joseph, in that it’s great to start very early on with a variety of resources. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but you can filter the podcasts by difficulty level and type. My approach has been to first work through all the “Easier” level ones, of each type, and when I finish those, start doing all of the ones on the next level of difficulty. From my own experience, I wish I had started listening to easy podcasts, etc., right from the start, as listening comprehension seems to be one of the things a lot of us find most difficult. Even though I find them effortful, I keep pushing myself to do them, and I find that my comprehension is improving slowly. Along with the podcasts, I’m working through each lesson, as the PP program guides me. The amount of resources that PP offers is phenomenal! I can’t imagine anything better! Good luck! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi Bill @wchvrs, how are you liking the lessons so far?

I agree with @David2019 that it’s a good idea to start with the Shorties, Podcasts, and Videos right away. Just don’t be discouraged if you aren’t understanding much at first. That will come in time. You can rely on the English transcripts a lot in the beginning. As you work through the Units, having the extra exposure to the language through the Shorties, etc. will boost your learning and help you notice patterns in the language faster.

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That’s more or less what I’m doing too. I haven’t done any podcasts yet as the shorties are enough. I try to listen and understand a few times without looking at the transcript as I can read so much more easily than understand. Then I do the vocab and last the transcription. Then repeat until I understand the whole lot by listening only. I also watch the news on TV to help with listening comprehension.

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Hearing myself properly pronounce words/phrases thanks to PP is my preferred method of memorizing a word/phrase I find the Units section my best option. I can click on a word/phrase several times until I feel I’ve got it right.
I’d like to move on to trying the shorties but there appears to be no easy way to replay a word/phrase/sentence. Note no easy way; it can be done.
Just a thought.
Now here’s a thought. Some time way back when I was doing both Memrise and PP I mentioned to Joel that I found the audio/video clips on Memrise very helpful and he said PP was working on the idea and now it’s a fait accompli (Dunno how to say it in Portuguese).
Now for the thought. Maybe consider putting all of the audio/video clips contained within many units into one separate self-contained folder/category

By the way I recognise Rui in some of the audio/video clips.Wot no Joel!
Isn’t his Portuguese good enough yet hehehe?

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Hey @kiwijock, for the Shorties: as you’re listening, if you want to replay a phrase you can click on the line of text and the audio will automatically go back to that line. Also, you can use the button at the top with the back arrow around a 10 to go back 10 seconds. Not perfect, but it definitely helps!

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Hi Molly
Obrigado for the tip