Customer Reviews

Portuguese (Brazilian) III, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Brazilian Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs

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4 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally, a usable Portugese language program. I live in Brazil about 3 months of every year, and I speak quasi-fluently. I find that this is an excellent refresher course to keep current. I also learned many expressions and constructions that I was previously unaware of their use.

I cannot tell you how many audio language instruction programs I have bought. I think I have purchased all of them on Amazon[.com] (for Portuguese, at least), and this is the first one I have found useful.

However, unless you have some background, or have listened to Pimsleur I and II, it is NOT for beginners.

If you're serious about communicating orally in a foreign language, you'll want to consider the Pimsleur Language Program. My own experience with the program has far exceeded expectations: after learning two foreign languages in high school and college classroom settings, I decided to tackle Portuguese on my own, and was told to purchase the first "course," which consists of sixteen CDs and a short reading booklet. After having completed it, my feeling is that I've made more progress speaking the language over the course of a month just by listening and responding to the thirty hours of recorded conversations than I made in a year of formal classroom instruction. I recently completed the second course, and can recommend it to anyone interested in reviewing and continuing to learn Brazilian Portuguese.

The premise is simple: each thirty-minute lesson consists of a series of conversations between a man and a woman. Occasionally you're asked to anticipate the response of one or the other and in that way participate in the conversations. By introducing new vocabulary and sentence structures slowly, and reiterating old material in each subsequent lesson - and above all, by frequently asking you to REPEAT ALOUD the native speakers in order to make the physiological connections required to reproduce the language and make sense of it - you are supposed to feel comfortable speaking in a range of more-or-less basic social situations by the end of the first level. Granted, the program may not work for everyone, but one of the advantages it has over a classroom is that you are able to set your own pace, revisiting older lessons for review ("live," rather than from notes) as many times as necessary until you feel ready to proceed. Thus even the linguistically impaired can feel comfortable learning an admittedly daunting language.

The most effective aspect of the program's innovation is that it introduces the written word only after several lessons of introduction to the pure articulated sounds of the language. The idea behind this method is to give primacy to what is said and heard, so that learners in difficult speaking situations are prevented from trying to translate the written word instead of generating sentences from actual prior conversations. It makes sense given that speakers of language all over the world, including the United States, begin to speak well before learning to read and write (if in fact they do the latter at all). For me, the approach has worked brilliantly.

That said, if learning composition or trying to read in a foreign language rather than communicating with other Portuguese speakers is your primary concern, you should know that this program may not be for you, or at the very least you would want to consider a good textbook for written exercises to complement the Pimsleur program. I can say without hesitation, however, that Pimsleur beats hands down the other audio programs currently on the market - Living Language and Teach Yourself don't touch it. Especially for a language where books of verbs, good dictionaries, and even decent textbooks are few and far between, it's fortunate that Pimsleur has included Portugues in its growing library of audio courses. Best of luck speaking!

I've just finished the 3 bands of Brazilian Portuguese and many other Pimsleur language programs and would like to share a little bit of my opinions. This legendary program has already got thousands of positive confirmations and to a large part I also concur. So here what I want to share is to provide some different views.

Basically the Pimsleur programs assume the listener to be "White American male of managerial stage, who has married and have couple of children" In almost every language Pimsleur offers will begins with an instruction like "Imagine an american man wants to strike up a conversation with a xxx women" and the xxx could be replaced by either Polish or Vietnamese or whatever. This presumption would somehow be balanced while you progress through the program by introducing the women subject scenario, but you will still discover from time to time that all the social contacts the Pimsleur program teaches you would confined into only top class of a society. Your wife / husband will be either a diplomat or bank manager, your son works in a multinational corporation and your daughter studies in University in Chicago (of course there are lots of Universities in Chicago). What most impressed me is that all the Brazilian partners in Pimsleur only play golf and tennis rather than soccor!!

I think the pricing policy of the publisher has already set that the customer would be rich. So no doubt that the language it provides fits these presumbly customers' need. If you are not a diplomat or multinational CEO who has business trips often, then you probably would find out in the end that the language situations it constructs are so far from your life experience. Nevertheless the Pimsleur still has it value. It trains your listening and pronounciation in a way that I havn't seen so effective in other materials. But I believe it worth about a hundred bucks or so, in stead of nearly thousand in 3 bands totally. I would recommend you to search in second hand market if it is possible.

go with the full length version and only take this abridged version as a second option. also, dont buy the version 1 unless you have zero knowledge of portuguese. even if you manage to say "todo bem", then buy the version two. you wont learn any portuguese writing from this program but the goal is conversational portuguese. this is by far the most effective program i have used. yes, i used three other programs and even hire a personal tutor. all the other programs either too focus on writing or too limited in scope - you may be able to ask for price, direction, to order food, but to pick up chicks? you definitely will need this program. again, i am referring to the full length version II (if its still available in the market).
highly recommended for any travelers with a need to use portuguese to function in brasil.

I study languages as I prefer to have a linguistic link to whichever country I visit. While "total immersion" is the best way to learn a language, it is difficult for those of us that have jobs and/or families. Pimsleur is as close to it as you can come. Buy a text of the language so that you can make a visual and mechanical connection with which you are learning, a paperback dictionary for use in the country and as an ancillary source while learning, and Pimsleur and you are as ready and as qualified as you can get. It works! Timmy T

I bought the CD's for this language as there is not much out there for Portuguese. I feel Pimsleur courses are the best for the languages I have studied with the Pimsleur system: Brazilian Portuguese, Italian and French. I also studied at Cal Berkeley for 2 semesters in addition to tbe CD's. When I went to Brazil the natives told me my Portuguese was very good. The level III course also does a good job of teaching a lot of colloquial speech. I highly recommend the level III course of Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese. By combining the CD's with study at a college, it is a winning strategy to learning the language.

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

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 is a language is speaking it and this programs works well on that part.

I am currently working on Phase 3.

After trying 2 other language programs, I found this the best for learning to speak language correctly and clearly---an easy, effortless way to learn, 1/2 hr a day. It's interesting, engaging, inspiring and it works even for the most unskilled language scholars such as myself. Although only a listening method, reading and writing skills are easier to develop once you learn the basic grammar. It's expensive and because of the learning technique of repetition, each part is limited in the vocabulary you learn. I would advise getting the quick Pimsleur first (cost is about $30) and then Parts II and III, not bother with Part I (expensive long version).

This program is good,,it's set up a little different than level 1..in this program they put in dialogues throughout the lesson that you are on..at first this confused me and I was about to send it back, but I got in the groove...If you have made it to level 2 you probably have came across program that will help with pronunciation like "FSI Mastering Portuguese" program...Pimslear give you that repeat sentence review that's also needed in learning. They have added a little pamplet (not a book!!)in this program..it has nothing to do with what you are learning on the tape, so I don't know why they added this,,they are words in the pamplet that are not use on the regular tape so you have no idea how to pronounce them...

Maybe they will come-up with a real book to compliment there program..

and like all poutuguese programs that I have use...the speakers talk to fast...I think they all forget we are just starting to learn the language...you should not have to guess at what you heard because they are speaking to fast...

The Pimsleur Portuguese language CD's are excellent...they have greatly advanced my ability to speak conversational Portuguese (Brazilian)....My fluency increased dramatically after mastering the 30 lessons of Unit I...now am in progress with second set of up to lesson 60. I recommend the Pimsleur CD;s to anyone attempting to learn a foreign language