Olá a todos! Hi, all! Nowadays, there are muitas maneiras (many ways) to learn Portuguese beyond the good old coursebook. You can se matricular em um curso (sign up for a course), contratar um professor particular (hire a private tutor), befriend a native speaker and exchange messages, use language learning apps, ouvir (listen to) podcasts and music, assistir (watch) movies. The list goes on.

Quem seguir nas redes sociais (Image by Biljana Jovanovic from Pixabay)

They are certainly all helpful in their own way. But today my plan is to introduce you to a more unusual way to expand your conhecimento (knowledge): by using redes sociais (social media). I’ve rounded up as melhores contas (best accounts) on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok that produce some interesting, amusing and educational conteúdo (content) about Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. And if you’re not too big on social networks, don’t worry! You don’t have to be active or even criar uma conta (create an account) to browse, so you can still have some fun while you aprende (learn). So if you want to hear more about quem seguir (who to follow), check out below.

Olga do Brasil

With over half a million seguidores (followers), Olga started her canal (channel) about two years ago. The Russian Youtuber offers viewers her overall impressions and reactions – in Portuguese!- about random assuntos (topics) related to Brazilian culture, celebrations, food, music, language and vida cotidiana (daily life). It is also entertaining to watch her compare certain aspects between Brazilians and Russians. We are vastly different, but we do have a lot more in common than we think. Watch her videos here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/OlgaDoBrasil

Aprenda português na internet (Image by Erik Lucatero from Pixabay)

Greengo dictionary

Literally speaking, it should be a dictionary for estrangeiros (foreigners), but one might even argue that this page only makes sense for Brazilians. And Greengo dictionary is definitely hugely popular among us, with its deliberately traduções ruins (poor translations) of English phrases that refer to our country’s current events, history, celebrities, public figures, geography and memes. Sounds like a lot to take in? I bet their clean layout with imagens (pictures) and a short translated text could help you entender (understand) a little better what is going on, even if it is a little mais avançado (more advanced). Either way, Greengo dictionary could be enlightening or just confusing, but it is worth a shot.

https://www.instagram.com/greengodictionary/

Eduardo Tristão Girão

Now for some local color, Eduardo Tristão Girão’s perfil (profile) is an Instagram hidden gem, mandatory for anyone even mildly interested in Brazilian culture and comida (food). Girão is an award-winning journalist and food critic, but his whole ideia is to keep things simple. He focuses primarily on regional cuisine, artisan production and traditional ingredients, especially queijos (cheese). Navigate his older stories for truly mesmerizing series on typical pratos (dishes) and onde e como (where and how) they are made.

https://www.instagram.com/eduardotristaogirao/

Veja contas interessantes para seguir (Image by Thomas Ulrich from Pixabay)

Gringos no Brasil

To wrap it up, TikTok and Instagram are not short on accounts of gringos (our slang for foreigners) to talk about what it is like to viver (live) in Brazil. With lots of piadas (jokes) and a wonderful sense of humor, these creators use TikTok’s characteristic fast-paced video style to share their experiences and give dicas (tips) on traveling and speaking Portuguese. Plus, you can passar horas (spend hours) watching without even noticing. Confira aqui:

https://www.tiktok.com/@ondestaoadam

https://www.tiktok.com/@spencersabe

https://www.tiktok.com/@paulcabannes_

https://www.tiktok.com/@thegringoinbrazil

https://www.instagram.com/chrisgringo/

Who do you like to follow on social media? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!