Songs and Language Learning: A Fun Way to Learn Portuguese
My sons are learning to surf, and they absolutely love it. To make the experience even richer, I started incorporating Portuguese into our beach adventures. First, we used the Bee’s Knees Portuguese ‘A Praia’ mini-course—not just to learn vocabulary, but to explore an awesome selection of Portuguese language related to the beach. But now that I’ve released the ‘Vamos Surfar’ mini-course, we can fully dive into the world of surfing in Portuguese. It’s fantastic to have a topic they’re so passionate about as a tool for learning the language!
Lately, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I’d love my sons to learn the lyrics of Solitário Surfista by Jorge Ben Jor. Music is such a powerful way to learn a language, so I printed out the lyrics and gave them copies to read along while listening to the song in the back of the car. At night, we go over the lyrics together and talk about their meanings. We’ve even challenged ourselves to memorise the song!
Each of my boys has found a favourite line:
My eldest loves “E namore as sereias” (Flirt with the mermaids). He finds it hilarious!
My younger son loves “E peça licença aos peixes” (Ask the fish for permission), a concept he had never considered before surfing!
Beyond the fun, this has also been a great way to introduce the imperative in Portuguese—phrases like “Pegue uma onda” (Catch a wave) and “Tome seu café” (Drink your coffee or breakfast). Until now, Bee’s Knees Portuguese mini-courses have kept instructions casual since the focus is on informal, fun learning. The imperative, often used for giving orders or formal instructions, hasn’t been a key feature yet—but it’s an essential part of the language and will be included in future mini-courses!
If you’re teaching Portuguese to your kids (or even friends), I highly recommend choosing a song, printing out the lyrics, and analysing them together while listening. It sparks so many interesting conversations and makes language learning even more engaging!
