Adir Ferreira
Hello, there!
You may use a foreign language for pleasure or for word and it is always good to be able to get your point across correctly, either by speaking or by writing.
So in today’s post I’m going to share six great ways to improve your written Portuguese. Estão prontos?
01. Improve your vocabulary
Yes! In order to write well we need to have a big (and good) amount of vocabulary and that somes from reading and listening. When you are reading something in Portuguese, don’t settle for just understanding the context; look up the word’s other meanings, write them down in your notebook. This can also be done when you watch a TV show, movie or even listen to podcasts or the radio.
02. Improve your spelling
You only learn to write by writing, there’s no other way. A very useful technique is to take a paragraph of an audio book and transcribe it. This way you will not only be practicinb your listening, but also your writing. Make a list with the words you didn’t get right the first time and rewrite them, paying a lot of attention. Reading is your #1 friend here too, so read, read, and read some more!
03. Improve your reading skills
Read several types of texts, not only the ones that you like. Reading will give you almost everything you need to be fluent in a foreign language, like grammar and vocabulary. So read, read, and read some more again!
04. Study a little grammar
Many of you have already frowned when you read this, but writing well comes from having a good grammatical background. You don’t need to know all the rules or difficult terminology, but make sure you get your verb conjugations right and whenever you make a mistake, stop and correct it. Don’t overlook it because it will keep piling up. Face it!
05. Start a blog!
Start a blog about something you like – or even about your own life (nobody has to know it’s you). Writing is a daily exercise and should be practiced as such. Don’t overanalyze it, just block the editor out, write away, and then edit.
06. Don’t reinvent the wheel
A very good exercise is to take a little paragraph from a text or a dialogue from your textbook and try to rewrite it in your notebook. It doesn’t have to be literally equal to the origina, just take the ideas and try to come up with something of your own. If you have this dialogue or paragraph on audio you’ll kill two birds with one stone: you will improve your listening and your writing skills at the same time.
Por hoje é só! Nos vemos em breve!
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