Customer Reviews

Portuguese (Brazilian), Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Brazilian Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Pimsleur Instant Conversation)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The 16 lessons provide an excellent introduction to spoken Brazilian Portuguese. Each 30 minute lesson incorporates critical vocabulary, important grammatical rules as well as ample review material, all presented in a straightforward, lucid manner. The interactive dialog with native speakers conversing at a normal pace builds confidence in speaking and helps develop an ear for the language. This is the best feature of the course. The biggest drawback is the absence of a workbook. I understand the argument that looking at the words can detract from learning the speech, especially in a language like Portuguese with its unusual spellings. But not knowing how the words are spelled leaves a big gap. I highly recommend it as an "introduction", but you'll need to buy something else even just to get a basic overview. I guess that's why the publishers promote their full first level course by giving a discount to purchasers of this program.

I listened to the Pimsleur series on my way to and from work everyday over the summer. The series is easy, fun, and completely engaging. I quickly learned the basics of conversation and grammar in addition to how to properly pronounce the words. I've gotten several compliments on how my accent from native Portuguese speakers! Currently, I'm taking a Portuguese class to learn how to read and write in Portuguese and my teacher told me that I should have registered for the 2nd level class! I told her that I had only listened to CDs to learn the language and she was shocked. Pimsleur has a created great program the only drawback of the conversation series is that there is no book but there are plenty of resources to buy on Amazon. Good luck, hope this review helped!

I am fluent in both Spanish and English. And since I have decided to go to the World Cup in 2014, I thought to start learning Portuguese.
This audiobook is too basic for spanish speakers, Portuguese is very similar to Spanish hence I BELIEVE that it is too basic. I am in CD 6 (out of 8) and I got here in 2 days. 99.9% of the times I already know what to answer when the narrator asks "how do you say:"
Also, i agree that repetition is the way to master anything, but these guys repeat waaay too much. Right now on CD 6, we've learned up to number 11 in Portuguese and almost the same phrases over and over and over and over just different positions of the words in the phrase. Like they teach you a very veeeery limited vocabulary and they make phrases out of those words.
Anyway, I'm buying another one. Not going to return it because I used it and definitely learned but I don't recommend it for Spanish speakers. English speaking people, I think can learn much more .

I teach Spanish and I wanted to review my Portuguese. I find this program to be a nice introduction to conversational Portuguese. If you know that you don't have time to learn the basics of the language, and you are more in the survival mode, this program would be a good start. It may be useful even if you are planning to continue on with more advanced study. I recently was asked by a friend to recommend a phrasebook, etc. for Mexico. Had I reviewed the first six lessons of Conversational Brazilian Portuguese as I have now, I would have recommended its counterpart in Spanish to my friend.

This is the first sixteen lessons of the full thirty lesson package. It is a great and inexpensive way to see if Pimsleur is the correct choice for you to learn the language.

It is easy to use since it requires no books and each lesson is only about thirty minutes long. It definitely helps to listen to each lesson at least twice a day. I suggest once in the morning and once in the evening.

It is a bit slow (boring) but the constant repetition really helps you remember. You are not memorizing but actively participating in a thirty minute conversation.

The course sparked enough interest for me that I then bought the full program. You can purchase the additional programs, five lessons at a time for your MP3/iPod off the companion website to Amazon.com, Audible.com.

You will speak without much of an accent and sound like you are from Rio.

The vocabulary is small but the structure of the language is there so you can insert new words as you learn them.

The hardest part of learning a language is speaking it and this programs works well on that part.

I went on to learn all of Phase 2 and I am currently working on Phase 3.

While the audio portion of the program is fine, there is no workbook as is referred to in the audio. This makes it a bit frustrating, knowing that I'm missing out on the important reading part, especially with a language like Portuguese.

Highly recommend. I was able to start a coversation in one weeks time just by listening to the CD's in my car on my way to work every morning.

PS: I enrolled in the University to take basic Brazilian Portuguese every Thursday evening and I learned more with the Conversational Brazilian Portuguese CD's then in class.