Answer: Yes, making voice notes or short videos about your day is an excellent way to practice solo speaking. It forces you to produce language without pressure, and over time it builds automaticity. The struggle to not translate from English is normal and will gradually diminish as you internalize more phrases.
Practical detail: The gap between reading vocabulary and speaking fluency is common. Reading allows you to recognize words, but speaking requires recall and real-time construction. Solo speaking practice addresses this by training recall in a low-stakes environment. Start with very simple topics: describe what you see in the room, summarize a short video you just watched, or narrate a routine activity. Keep recordings to 1-2 minutes. Listen back and note where you hesitated or used English structures. Then re-record the same content without notes, aiming for smoother delivery.
Another effective technique is shadowing: listen to a short audio clip (a dialogue or a line from a show) and repeat immediately, mimicking intonation and rhythm. This improves both speaking and listening simultaneously. Use subtitles in Portuguese first, then without. For listening comprehension specifically, expose yourself to content slightly below your reading level but above your listening level. Apps like YouTube have channels for learners with slower speech. Watch with Portuguese subtitles, then try without and check your understanding.
The habit of translating in your head fades as you learn phrases as whole chunks rather than word-by-word. For example, instead of thinking "I need to go to the store" and translating each word, learn "Eu preciso ir ao mercado" as a unit. Flashcards with full sentences help. Also, practice responding to common questions with pre-made short answers until they feel natural.
Honest tradeoffs: Solo practice lacks real-time interaction, so you might develop slower responses in actual conversations. To compensate, later incorporate language exchange apps or tutors for structured speaking. But for A2, solo practice is efficient because it allows many repetitions without social anxiety. Next steps: commit to a weekly routine. Use a voice journal app or just your phone's recorder. On day one, record "Today I woke up at 7. I had coffee and bread." Day two, extend with "I went to work. I talked with my colleague about the project." Gradually add more detail. Within a month you'll notice fewer pauses and less reliance on English.
For listening, try to listen to a 2-minute audio twice: first for gist, second for detail. Pause and repeat key sentences aloud. This combines listening and speaking practice.
Remember that mistakes are normal. The goal is to increase speaking stamina, not perfection. Each recording is a step toward automaticity.