Customer Reviews

Teach Yourself Beginner's Portuguese (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill))

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Portuguese is my third foreign language. I have read many foreign language courses, some good, some not so good. This one is not one of the best. The dialogues are reasonable. They resemble the dialogues in other courses like a BBC Get By course my mother bought in Europe early in the 1980s. A problem is that you cannot learn a language just by looking at the dialogues. The tapes are too fast for a beginner and you cannot catch what the speakers say. You are left with looking at the dialogues and trying to make sense of what they say. This is not easy either. The language notes are minimal. You are given very little guidance on the language itself. The little guidance you get in some cases comes under the wrong heading. The 'ir'+ main verb formation (eg eu vou visitar) is given the name of "simple future". The simple future (eu visitarei) is something quite different, not shown in this course. When you move to a more informative course, as I have done, you find out these inaccuracies. They can mislead a beginner who is not used to foreign language learning. If you are a reader turning to this course as a starting point, then you are being started on the wrong foot. The first thing you come across in this book and more than once (on the cover etc) is that this is a friendly introduction to Portuguese. In my view a friendly course is one that looks well after the learner. This one does not!

This book is too elementary to teach you anything. The dialogues may give you a sample of the kind of things you may need to say, but there is no real help with the language itself. There does not appear to be a plan behind the dialogues. I gave up and bought Elisabeth Smiths Instant Portuguese which is much more helpful. You can tell there is a plan in this one. You feel more confident you are in the hands of a good teaching tool.

Portuguese is my third foreign language. I have read many foreign language courses, some good, some not so good. This one is not one of the best. The dialogues are reasonable. They resemble the dialogues in other courses like a BBC Get By course my mother bought in Europe early in the 1980s. A problem is that you cannot learn a language just by looking at the dialogues. The tapes are too fast for a beginner and you cannot catch what the speakers say. You are left with looking at the dialogues and trying to make sense of what they say. This is not easy either. The language notes are minimal. You are given very little guidance on the language itself. The little guidance you get in some cases comes under the wrong heading. The 'ir'+ main verb formation (eg eu vou visitar) is given the name of "simple future". The simple future (eu visitarei) is something quite different, not shown in this course. When you move to a more informative course, as I have done, you find out these inaccuracies. They can mislead a beginner who is not used to foreign language learning. If you are a reader turning to this course as a starting point, then you are being started on the wrong foot. The first thing you come across in this book and more than once (on the cover etc) is that this is a friendly introduction to Portuguese. In my view a friendly course is one that looks well after the learner. This one does not!

Portuguese is my third foreign language. I have read many foreign language courses, some good, some not so good. This one is not one of the best. The dialogues are reasonable. They resemble the dialogues in other courses like a BBC Get By course my mother bought in Europe early in the 1980s. A problem is that you cannot learn a language just by looking at the dialogues. The tapes are too fast for a beginner and you cannot catch what the speakers say. You are left with looking at the dialogues and trying to make sense of what they say. This is not easy either. The language notes are minimal. You are given very little guidance on the language itself. The little guidance you get in some cases comes under the wrong heading. The 'ir'+ main verb formation (eg eu vou visitar) is given the name of "simple future". The simple future (eu visitarei) is something quite different, not shown in this course. When you move to a more informative course, as I have done, you find out these inaccuracies. They can mislead a beginner who is not used to foreign language learning. If you are a reader turning to this course as a starting point, then you are being started on the wrong foot. The first thing you come across in this book and more than once (on the cover etc) is that this is a friendly introduction to Portuguese. In my view a friendly course is one that looks well after the learner. This one does not!

"Beginner's Portuguese: An Easy Introduction" by Sue Tyson-Ward is an excellent and rather quick way to learn the basics of Portuguese. Prepared in the same manner as other books in the "Teach Yourself!" series, this book is great if you want to learn Portuguese as it is spoken in Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira). While many people might pick up this book thinking that the dialects of Portuguese in both Portugal and Brazil are the same, they are sadly mistaken.

About 40 million people in the world only speak Continental/Lusitanian Portuguese. This includes Portugal and all her former African and Asian colonies, as well as Portuguese language enclaves in both New England and Toronto. Brazilian Portuguese, spoken by more than 140 million is widely more recognized due to the major influence Brazil has had on the music world. The major difference in Brazilian Portuguese is that many words borrowed from the many indigenous groups and ex-African slaves found in Brazil have added to the language. While a dog might be called a "cao" in Portugal, it is a "Cachorro" in Brazil.

Therefore, if you plan to spend a lovely weekend in the Algarve, or go sight-seeing in Lisbon, then this book is the only one you'll need to speak proper Portuguese. If you are traveling to Brazil, then purchase "Teach Yourself! Brazilian Portuguese". Both books are also available with audio books if you need to practice your pronunciation. Overall, a great book at a great price.

The book begins by referencing an audio tape (series) that does NOT come with this offering of the book. Clearly, the audio is VERY important to pick up even the most basic of languages.

"Beginner's Portuguese: An Easy Introduction" by Sue Tyson-Ward is an excellent and rather quick way to learn the basics of Portuguese. Prepared in the same manner as other books in the "Teach Yourself!" series, this book is great if you want to learn Portuguese as it is spoken in Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira). While many people might pick up this book thinking that the dialects of Portuguese in both Portugal and Brazil are the same, they are sadly mistaken.

About 40 million people in the world only speak Continental/Lusitanian Portuguese. This includes Portugal and all her former African and Asian colonies, as well as Portuguese language enclaves in both New England and Toronto. Brazilian Portuguese, spoken by more than 140 million is widely more recognized due to the major influence Brazil has had on the music world. The major difference in Brazilian Portuguese is that many words borrowed from the many indigenous groups and ex-African slaves found in Brazil have added to the language. While a dog might be called a "cao" in Portugal, it is a "Cachorro" in Brazil.

Therefore, if you plan to spend a lovely weekend in the Algarve, or go sight-seeing in Lisbon, then this book is the only one you'll need to speak proper Portuguese. If you are traveling to Brazil, then purchase "Teach Yourself! Brazilian Portuguese". Both books are also available with audio books if you need to practice your pronunciation. Overall, a great book at a great price.

I realised the more I studied this book the more I understood why it was so difficult to get the answers right when doing the exercises. It is riddled with mistakes. Even at the outset with simple greetings such as "How are you?" "I am well" , the answers to exercises have a woman using the masculine form (Exercise 1, Unit 1) and gives "Are you well?" to a man as ..estas 'bom' instead of the usual 'bem' without any explanation (box on page 15). In a table of personal pronouns, the feminine singular is given as a plural (elas instead of ela) Unit 2 p. 21 and in the same Unit a table of nationalities has transposed the feminine singular and masculine plural. And so it goes on. I thought it had been produced in a hurry but yet it appears to have had three editions since 1996. This company describes itself as loved and trusted - well it shouldn't abuse that trust. And can anybody recommend a good introductory book on European Portuguese?

focuses on continental which is hard to find. not much grammar, but enough basics to get you going. good conversations and lectures.

I bought this course hoping to learn the language, but I was in for some disappointment. Dialogues: you don't quite know what they say, the vocab lists give you only some of the words. Audio: too fast, unclear diction. Grammar: superficial, partial info on some points only. Exercises: more for show than to help you. Pictures: they may appeal to children or the young at heart. Final balance: very frustrating, wasted money. I hope my experience will be of use to other learners.