Shorties range in difficulty from level A1 up to B2, they feature native speakers from Portugal, and there are plenty of topics to choose from, such as small talk, history, culture, shopping, and much more. This makes it easy to find content that is relevant to your own daily life and experiences. Shorties can help you improve every aspect of the language, if you know how to use them.

To focus on listening and understanding what you hear, set the speed to 0.8 or 0.9x at first. You can increase to full speed once you’re more comfortable. Follow along with the translated transcript, replay more difficult sections, and then take the quiz to check your understanding. Part of the challenge is trying to decipher the meaning of the question itself.

For pronunciation practice, try reading the whole transcript out loud. This will help you gain confidence with speaking out loud, perfect the more difficult sounds, and get used to the flow/rhythm of Portuguese. At first, focus on saying each sound correctly. Later, work on getting faster to reach a more natural speaking pace. If it feels like too much, repeat each word and phrase from the Vocabulary and Expressions sections. Then, play the Shorty audio one line at a time and pause to repeat what you heard.

Once you’re a little further along in the learning process, you can get more creative. For example, to work on producing Portuguese, challenge yourself to say or write a sentence containing each of the vocabulary words. Or, summarize a Shorty out loud or on paper, and then make up your own sequel. Grab a partner and role-play using the transcript as a guide. Can you continue the dialogue on your own?

Some Shorties are focused on specific grammar elements. Take advantage of each episode as an opportunity to explore how different features of Portuguese are used in context, such as adverbs, clitic pronouns, or reflexive verbs.

Visit PracticePortuguese.com to discover how Shorties and other learning tools can help you take an active role in the learning process.