Introduction
With approximately 270 million speakers, Portuguese is among the top ten languages spoken across the globe. It is a beautiful Western Romance language that originated in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is one of the most spoken languages in South and Latin America and is the official language of 9 countries. If you have decided to learn this beautiful language for any reason, a very important step is to learn the vocabulary. Along with the regular method of learning from books, people are using technology to learn and improve their vocabulary.
Before we look into the best Portuguese vocabulary-building app, let us look at some of the features that you should consider before using an app for learning vocabulary.
User friendly and easy to use interface
It is important that the app is user friendly and has an easy-to-use interface which can save a lot of time and effort. Also, this helps in focussing on the sole purpose of learning vocabulary rather than getting lost in the technical aspects which can eventually lead to frustration.
Few things to consider:
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It is not just words
Though vocabulary learning is learning words, it is important to understand how to use them in context and sentences. This could be just the basic ones for the beginners or more advanced versions for other learners.
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Audio with pronunciation
Instead of using an app that just gives the word and its meaning, find an app that also has an inbuilt voice which can be played to understand the pronunciation of the word.
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Have exercises related to the words learned
Practice is an essential step towards learning a new language. To help you with the Portuguese vocabulary find an app that has exercises or a test that can help you assess your learning.
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No cost or cost-effective
As a beginner, you can start with a free app that has maximum features.
There are many apps available today that promise to make language learning easy for you. My favourite is Multibhashi which is free to download from Playstore and has all the features mentioned above.
You can use this app as an addition to your Portuguese learning. This can help you learn while on the go. For instance, while commuting you can use your idle time to polish your Portuguese vocabulary understanding or learn new words as well. There are many simple exercises which can help you test your knowledge. You can further use these examples or questions to practice on your own by framing your own sentences or questions and practicing them.
Multibhashi also offers online language learning options where well qualified teachers help you learn the language in the most structured and organized manner and help you understand better even if you are a beginner.
A smartphone has become an essential commodity these days and you can hardly find a person not using it. Thus, an app is easy to carry as it is in your phone and can be referred to at any time. The best part is every time you look at your phone you get reminded about your Portuguese learning and thus can always squeeze in quick five to ten minutes during the day to learn or improve your vocabulary.
