Portuguese (Brazilian), Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Brazilian Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Pimsleur (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0743550447 | ISBN-13: 978-0743550444 | Publication Date: October 3, 2005 | Edition: Revised, 16 Lessons

Portuguese is the mother tongue of about 170 million people, mainly in Portugal and the Portuguese islands in the Atlantic, Brazil, and Portugal's former overseas provinces in Africa and Asia. Pimsleur's Brazilian Portuguese teaches the S‹o Paolo dialect of Brazilian Portuguese.

Brazilian Portuguese, Conversational

• Sixteen 30-minute lessons of spoken Brazilian Portuguese language instruction. These sixteen lessons are the same as the first sixteen lesson of Pimsleur's 30-Unit Comprehensive Program.
• Each lesson includes an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures and includes practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons.
• Essential grammar and vocabulary. Topics include: greetings, numbers, meals, shopping, telling time, scheduling activities, and asking and giving directions.
• No mindless repetition! Converse with native speakers in natural (and useful!) conversations.
• Easy, fast, fun and effective language acquisition.
• Completely Audio - anytime, anywhere. No computer necessary! Unlike expensive software programs which tie learners to a computer, Pimsleur courses are available in CD or mp3 format to meet your needs.
• Receive an instant credit of $150 to trade up from the Conversational to the full Level 1 Comprehensive CD course.

Pimsleur® equals success. Just one 30-minute lesson a day gets you speaking and understanding like no other program.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pimsleur programs provide plenty of positive reinforcement that will keep learners on track, and we found that Pimsleur gave us more proficiency and confidence in speaking the new language than any of the other language programs we reviewed." -- AudioFile Magazine

"EXTREMELY ACCESSIBLE...each section within the lessons is short enough to hold our attention, and there is enough repetition to teach even those who consider themselves slow learners...Pimsleur [programs] are extremely thorough and easy to use -- quite lively!" -- Boston Herald

"Learn French while commuting, German while jogging, Spanish (or Russian, Italian, and Japanese) while cooking all with NO WRITTEN MATERIALS!" -- New York Daily News

"Designed for the ear and not the eye...the lessons provide PERFECT 30-minute bites of work." -- St Louis Post-Dispatch

"Learn to habla español or parlez français before your next trip aboard. The interactive LESSONS CHALLENGE STUDENTS to use new words in conversation instead of memorize them." -- American Way (American Airlines inflight magazine)

"I tried other language programs with little success...This is the best by far!" -- Pamela A. Mitchell, Pilot, International Society of Women Airline Pilots

About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles:  the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.”  This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Pimsleur; Revised, 16 Lessons edition (October 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743550447
• ISBN-13: 978-0743550444
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.9 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Portuguese
  • #6 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Portuguese
  • #23 in Books > Books on CD > Nonfiction

More About the Author

Dr. Paul Pimsleur (b. 1926, d. 1976) devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world's leading experts in applied linguistics. He was fluent in French, good in German, and had a working knowledge of Italian, Russian, Modern Greek, and Mandarin Chinese. After obtaining his Ph.D. in French and a Masters in Psychology from Columbia University, he taught French Phonetics and Linguistics at UCLA. He later became Professor of Romance Languages and Language Education, and Director of The Listening Center (a state-wide language lab) at Ohio State University; Professor of Education and Romance Languages at the State University of New York at Albany; and a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. He did research on the psychology of language learning and in 1969 was Section Head of Psychology of Second Language Learning at the International Congress of Applied Linguistics.

Dr. Pimsleur was a member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and a founding member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

His many books and articles revolutionized theories of language learning and teaching. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed a new method (The Pimsleur Method) that is based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called "Graduated Interval Recall." This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the "Pimsleur Programs."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BETTER THAN MOST, October 28, 2005

By 

Cynthia J. Salim "LOVE 2 LEARN" (Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portuguese (Brazilian), Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Brazilian Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

This course is good and worth the price. The only reason that I didn't rate this 5 star is because you will need more than this course to feel confident. The additional lessons from PIMSLEUR are extremely expensive. I recommend PORTUGUESE IN 10 MINUTES a day (less than $20) and a basic Brazilian Portuguese course(often inexpensive or free). If you wish to go deeper into the language, get "501 Portuguese verbs" and "Essential Portuguese Grammer". Don't waste your money on the Lonely Planet Brazilian Portuguese Phrase Book.

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great beginning language course for those long commutes, August 3, 2006

By 

M. White (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Portuguese (Brazilian), Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Brazilian Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

The Pimsleur series is very different from the other language CDs I have tried. It uses repetitive short conversations and sentences to intuitively learn grammar and structure without formally "thinking" about the grammar and structure. This approach is slow, but very effective. Each lesson is 30 minutes in length and gradually adds to the previous lesson. Other language CDs often just have you mimic and repeat different words or sentences over and over, which gets old fast. Pimsleur has you repeat the words a few times, but then asks you to recall them on your own, and puts them in context using short conversations where you ask and answer questions with an imaginary Brazilian woman sitting next to you (presumably at a bar). The Conversational series are just an introduction to PImsleur Level I courses, so you won't know much by the end of them, and will need to buy the full set (over $300). But if you aren't interested in learing formal grammar, then give the Conversational Brazilian Portuguese CDs a try before you invest in the full level I course.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for assisting in building a foundation, May 7, 2006

By 

P. Darko (Atlanta, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portuguese (Brazilian), Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Brazilian Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation) (Audio CD)

I am using this in conjunction with other sources. I listen to it to get a better grasp on pronunciation. However, I also purchased a good book (Portuguese in 10 minutes a day) as well. I tend to like underlining things and making notes etc, so for me a good book was a necessity; as well as reference material, such as a book of verbs, and a dictionary. I am close to halfway through the CDs and it is excellent for teaching you how to say certain phrases competently. But I want to learn more than canned questions and answers. Besides, if one has memorized the phrases and responses by rote, they would probably not be able to carry on a conversation if the subject matter changes. I intend to get a good grasp on the basics to begin with, and then proceed to an intermediary level, so I am using this CD series as well as some written material too.