4 Motivating TED Talks in Portuguese For Polishing Your Language Skills

Have you ever watched TED talks?

If you have, did you find them useful and amusing?

For those who aren't familiar, TED talks is an American media organization that posts talks of different people to spread their thoughts and creative ideas for a better world on the whole.

And for those who already know about TED talks, we have one more piece of information you'll find quite useful: TED motivational and amusing talks can be used for learning foreign languages, Portuguese for example.

There are many Portuguese language learners who use different learning methods to learn and improve their Portuguese skills, from booking 1-on-1 lessons with Portuguese tutors to watching awesome Portuguese movies on Netflix and playing games to memorize common Portuguese phrases you need to know.

Therefore, learning Portuguese with TED talks should be one more fun and effective way for anyone willing to learn Portuguese.

If you are still skeptical about this, read the following lines of how TED talks can help you learn Portuguese, and also improve your overall language skills.

Why Should You Learn Portuguese With TED Talks?

You probably wonder why you should learn Portuguese with TED talks when there are so many other language learning methods?

Well, here are only some of the reasons why TED talks are a great language learning tool.

• Unlike other videos, TED talks videos are usually short and therefore, great when you don't have too much free time for language learning. On the other hand, short videos are efficient because you are fully concentrated on them from the first till the last second of the video.

• Topics that are covered are numerous, from some light tips about happier and healthier life to some more serious such as a current political situation in the world or about technical achievements and news.

• Their speakers are well-aware of the fact that their audience is from all over the world, so they tend to speak slowly and clearly, using formal language and general phrases. They also take small breaks, giving them time to listeners to process what they've heard.

• The language used in TED talks videos is practiced many times before their speakers stand in front of the camera. That means that every word and phrase is clearly pronounced and well thought out. Portuguese slang words or some other colloquialisms aren't used here so as a language learner, you won't suffer trying to get the whole point.

How to Learn Portuguese With TED talks?

Learning Portuguese with TED talks is actually very easy.

If you still haven't, we recommend you try the following approach to understand better and efficiently learn the language.

This approach is especially useful and effective with short videos like TED talks.

• Watch the video once or twice. Depending on your proficiency level, you can watch it with or without subtitles.

• Break the video into smaller pieces- paragraphs.

• Break the paragraph into sentences.

• Split the sentences into phrases and words.

• Take a good look at the words. Make sure you understand each word or phrase.

• Put words into sentences. You should understand them now.

• Rejoin sentences into a paragraph. Now the whole paragraph, made of sentences, is easy to understand and see what the speaker is talking about.

TED Talks Videos in Portuguese For Polishing Your Language Skills

TED talks videos are mainly in English.

That, however, doesn't mean that you won't find them in other languages, in our case, in Portuguese.

No, you just have to give a little extra effort to find them.

To make it easy for you in the beginning, we've to sound some interesting and motivating TED talks videos in Portuguese that can help you polish your Portuguese skills.

These videos are suitable for intermediate and advanced language learners or at least for those who learn the language intensively for at least several months.

So, beginners, just be patient, hard-working, and you'll get to this point.

And now our TED talks videos in Portuguese.

Ana and Pedro Avzaradel TEDx Rio- Climate + Mobility + Waste + Consumption = ‘What’s It to Me?

Our postmodern world became worried about the environment and climate change, and for a reason.

Ana, an economist, and Pedro, a lawyer, talk about climate change, the environment, and today's need for too much consumption.

Besides practicing listening skills and learning new words and phrases, with these two amazing people, you will surely change your view on the world and the fact what we should do to make our planet alive for the next generations.

João Cavalcanti TEDx São Paulo- What Is the Brazilian Dream?

Even though this question is popular in Brazil for the last several years, researcher João Cavalcanti made it to a higher level, discussing that question for the people of Brazil.

What you can learn from this great speaker, besides Brazilian Portuguese, is that the concept of the worldwide-known US dream can also be a solution to Brazil as well.

The speaker uses simple words and short sentences which can make you think that it is ideal for beginners. However, he speaks a little too fast, so you have to be quite focused on his intonation and the topic if you want to get the context right.

Carla Fernandes at TEDx Lisbon- Being a Black Woman in Lisbon

The question of black women in the world became one of the main topics especially when they stand out in front of their rights and are willing to fight for them.

And do you know how that looks like if you are a black woman who lives in the capital city of Portugal, in Lisbon?

Carla Fernandes will reveal that.

She talks about everyday challenges and all the things she faces as a black woman in mainly white Lisbon.

Besides improving your European Portuguese accent and intonation, you will learn much more than just the language thanks to Carla.

You will learn how to cope with today's world as a black woman, as someone the majority considers different. (or perhaps not)

Marina Silva at TEDx Rio- Everyone Can Do It

Marina Silva was a candidate for the Brazilian presidency two times. The first time, they got 20 percent of the votes while the second time, she, unfortunately, was down the line.

In her TED videos, she talks about how everything is possible if you are willing enough to start making your dreams come true.

In her videos, Marina speaks slowly, using simple words and phrases. Sentences are clear and you can see the empathy between her lines.

Pretty encouraging, isn't it?

Final Thoughts

TED talks are interesting, fun, and motivating, especially when learning a language.

Learning Portuguese with TED talks videos is an excellent way to improve all your language skills and be up-to-date with different topics, even those you were never interested in.

The way speakers present and discuss the topic is impressive.

If you want to make these videos even more challenging you can turn off the subtitles, completely practice your listening skills, and pay attention to the pronunciation.

After that, you can book a lesson with Portuguese tutors, and circle the whole workout process.

Your brain will be thankful for that ‘cardio’ workout and you will be proud of yourself and your achievements.