Basic Portuguese (Continental) Complete Course: Cassette/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) [Audio Cassette]

Living Language (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0609602705 | ISBN-13: 978-0609602706 | Publication Date: June 16, 1998 | Edition: Book and Cassette

Speak Portuguese with confidence in just 6 weeks!

Living Language Portuguese Complete Course is a step-by-step guide to the basics of Portuguese conversation and grammar. This revised course uses the highly effective speed-learning method developed by U.S. government experts to teach foreign languages to overseas-bound servicemen and diplomats.

40 lessons on two 90-minute cassettes
Begin with simple words and phrases and progress to more complex expressions. Just listen and repeat after the native speakers. Only Portuguese is spoken on the recordings, so you learn naturally, the way you learned English. The accompanying Portuguese Coursebook includes the English translations.

Portuguese Coursebook
The pocket-size book contains all the translated phrases from the recorded lessons, plus additional vocabulary, detailed explanations, and quizzes.

The book also features verb charts with all tenses included and a comprehensive summary of Portuguese grammar.


Portuguese-English/English-Portuguese Dictionary
More than 20,000 words are defined.
Idiomatic expressions and common phrases show how words are used in everyday conversation. The dictionary doubles as a phrasebook.
1,000 of the most frequently used words are highlighted for easy reference.

The best-selling language course that really works--revised, updated, and expanded!

For Beginners or Those Who Want a Thorough Review

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Speak Portuguese with confidence in just 6 weeks!

Living Language Portuguese Complete Course is a step-by-step guide to the basics of Portuguese conversation and grammar. This revised course uses the highly effective speed-learning method developed by U.S. government experts to teach foreign languages to overseas-bound servicemen and diplomats.

40 lessons on two 90-minute cassettes
Begin with simple words and phrases and progress to more complex expressions. Just listen and repeat after the native speakers. Only Portuguese is spoken on the recordings, so you learn naturally, the way you learned English. The accompanying Portuguese Coursebook includes the English translations.

Portuguese Coursebook
The pocket-size book contains all the translated phrases from the recorded lessons, plus additional vocabulary, detailed explanations, and quizzes.

The book also features verb charts with all tenses included and a comprehensive summary of Portuguese grammar.


Portuguese-English/English-Portuguese Dictionary
More than 20,000 words are defined.
Idiomatic expressions and common phrases show how words are used in everyday conversation. The dictionary doubles as a phrasebook.
1,000 of the most frequently used words are highlighted for easy reference.

The best-selling language course that really works--revised, updated, and expanded!

For Beginners or Those Who Want a Thorough Review

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Living Language; Book and Cassette edition (June 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609602705
• ISBN-13: 978-0609602706
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.6 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,738,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Books on Cassette > Languages > Portuguese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Inexpensive Basic Portuguese Course, March 13, 2000

By 

"rebelunion" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basic Portuguese (Continental) Complete Course: Cassette/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) (Audio Cassette)

Portuguese is one of the most spoken languages in the world. It's unfortunate that such a beautiful language is ignored, because people who actually want to learn it have a hard time finding a company that offers Portuguese courses. Living Language is the only company that offers cassettes in both Brasilian and Continental Portuguese. So when I decided to learn Portuguese, I bought both courses.

Unlike the dozen cassette Foreign Service Institute's Portuguese Course (which is actually in Brasilian Portuguese), the Living Language course gives the learner the basics in two cassettes. The forty lessons on the two cassettes are designed in steps. The first four lessons are about pronounciation. There is a noticable difference in the pronounciation and syntax of Brasilian and Continental Portuguese, and Living Language does a very good job in structuring both courses so that the learner is not confused.

I also like the Living Language courses because if you follow the directions, they ensure that you will learn the basics of Portuguese. Living Language offers the best variety of basic courses, and it's the only company that offers an inexpensive Portuguese course. If you want to learn Brasilian or Continental Portuguese, this is the company to pick. And remember that after you learn the basics, the best thing to do is to take a trip either to Brasil or Portugal and practice. Immersion will keep the language fresh in your head. I hope you enjoy learning Portuguese as much as I did.

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars *Not* a good start., February 24, 2001

By 

Christopher Wanko "-C" (Nutley, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Basic Portuguese (Brazilian) Complete Course: Cassette/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) (Portuguese and English Edition) (Paperback)

Yes, it is a basic intro to Portuguese, Brazilian style. However, if you are learning a language for the first time, it's usually good to warm up with the phoenetics first. This book doesn't, and as such is a poor first start.

This book/ cassette combo starts off with the usual simple phrases and such, but neglects a solid tutorial in pronouncing dipthongs. For those of you who know or are learning Portuguese, you can relate: it isn't easy mastering the pronunciation of 'não', for example. Having a native speaker pronounce the alphabet and some sample dipthongs would've helped (forget the alphabet, they don't pronounce it at all).

So, what happens is that you start off with "Good Morning" (Bom dia) and a handful of pages later, are expected to pronounce "O senhor, pode dizer-me, onde fica ha um bom restaurante?" with the rapidity and skill of a native. Nevermind that it doesn't slow down or break it into phrases.

If you bought it and thought, "I must be stupid or something", you're not alone and you are definitely not stupid. I handed this to a native speaker with Brazilian fluency, and she agreed that the pacing was bizarre and unfair.

This book/ cassette combination would probably be helpful to someone learning the language already, who might want to get a crash course in before going on a trip.

A much better buy is the Foreign Service tapes, which take you from a pure beginner and drill you constantly on pronunciation and grammar. After only two tapes, my pronunciation was considered very good by native speakers, and my functional vocabulary skyrocketed.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great, easy, comprehensive, and portable, September 13, 1999

By 

Daniel Frisina ([e-mail]) (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basic Portuguese (Brazilian) Complete Course: Cassette/Book Package (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses) (Portuguese and English Edition) (Paperback)

I was an exchange student in Brazil. This course was such a vital tool to my success there and to my success at a now fluent speaker of portuguese. The course comes with a dictionary that has the most valid and up-to-date essential vocab words that I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty. If you only buy it for the dictionary it'd be worth, yet the course with the audio help is priceless when really trying to pick up a language.