This lesson includes a free PDF with the video transcript and translation. Fill out the form below to download your PDF.
Olá, queridos alunos! (Hello, dear students!)
This is Virginia, your Brazilian teacher.
Is it possible to learn Brazilian Portuguese using only YouTube?
It’s not easy, but yes, it is possible. For that, you need to be very disciplined and know how to use YouTube really well.
In this lesson, you’re going to learn how to use the 5 most useful tools for anyone learning a language on YouTube.
How to Learn Portuguese with YouTube
1. Adjusting the video playback speed.
YouTube allows you to adjust the video speed so you can watch the video at a faster or slower pace. This tool is very useful when you’re watching a video in another language. You can adjust the speed of each video to match your level.
If you still have trouble understanding Portuguese, you can watch videos at a slower speed, like 0.75 or 0.5.
If you’re more advanced, you can watch at a higher speed, like 1.25 or 1.5.
2. Subtitles or Captions.Â
I recommend watching videos in Portuguese with Portuguese subtitles so you can listen and read at the same time. YouTube offers automatic captions on almost all videos. To enable captions on YouTube, you need to click the CC button. It’s important to know that the captions automatically created by YouTube aren’t always perfect, but they’re still helpful.
In my videos, I don’t use YouTube’s automatic subtitles. All my videos already have embedded subtitles in two languages, Portuguese and English, so you have the chance to read both subtitles and learn through comparison.
If you’re already an advanced student and would like to listen to the audio without reading subtitles, you can listen to my podcast, where you’ll find only the audio from my videos.
3. Subtitles with translation.
The YouTube captions feature also offers translation into many languages. If you’re a beginner and still need to translate videos into your native language, this tool can be very useful for you.
To enable subtitles with translation on YouTube, first, you need to click the CC button. Then, click on settings, then CC again, click on “auto-translate,” and select your language.
You can also increase or decrease the subtitle size and adjust other details under “options.”
4. Search tool.Â
My students are always asking me if I’ve made a video on a specific topic because they don’t know how to find my videos. Now I’m going to show you how you can easily find videos on my channel (and other channels).
First, you need to go to the channel. Look for the magnifying glass icon that’s aligned with the menu for videos, shorts, and community. Click on the space next to it. Type in a keyword. I usually use English titles on my channel, but sometimes I use terms in Portuguese too. You can test a few terms to see if you find what you’re looking for.
For example, let’s see if there’s anything about travel on my channel. Let’s search for the word “travel.” Here, you’ll see a list of videos related to travel.
Let’s see if we find anything about verbs in the past tense. I’ll use the keyword “past.” You can see that I’ve already published many videos on this topic.
Today, you’ll find over four hundred videos for all levels on my channel. This tool is very useful for easily finding videos on topics you’re interested in.
5. Playlists.
I’ve created some playlists to help you find content relevant to your level.
To view the playlists, first go to the channel, then click on playlists.
If you’re just starting to learn Portuguese, I recommend beginning with the playlist called “Basic Course” (Curso Básico). Start with the oldest videos and study them one by one until you reach the newest. This playlist has over 60 videos and teaches all the basic content you need to learn.
If your level is intermediate or advanced, I recommend the playlists: “Português Intermediário & Avançado” and “Bate-Papo,” where you’ll find authentic conversations in Portuguese.
Besides studying the playlists, I also recommend that you study the new lessons I publish every week.
Many videos, especially the most recent ones, also include a PDF with a summary of the lesson and exercises for you to practice. You’ll find the link to each PDF in the description of each video.
YouTube Club
If you’d like to support my channel and have access to the transcripts of all my videos, join the Speaking Brazilian YouTube Club.Â
In this program, you’ll have access to all my videos in the order I recommend studying them, as well as the transcript and translation of each video so you can study the text.
You can try the program free for one week. Click here to sign up.Â
Online Brazilian Portuguese Courses
I truly believe it’s possible to learn Portuguese for free using only my YouTube channel, and I’ve already received messages from students who achieved this goal. However, not everyone can learn a language on their own. I, for example, can’t learn languages on my own. I need a structured program and guidance from a teacher.
If that’s your case, I recommend the courses at Speaking Brazilian School.
At our school, we offer digital courses, small group classes, and private lessons with Brazilian teachers.
Click here to learn more about our Brazilian Portuguese online classes.Â
Free PDF!
This lesson includes a free PDF with the video transcript and translation. Fill out the form below to download your PDF.
Até a próxima!
Virginia & Speaking Brazilian Team
