Complete Portuguese: The Basics (Book and CD Set): Includes Coursebook, 4 Audio CDs, and Learner's Dictionary (Complete Basic Courses) Unabridged Edition

This is an excellent book to get started learning Portuguese. The book follows a logical order and incorporate the vocabulary in sets of exercises the learner will find in every unit. It provides a fun and interactive way to learn the language. Perfect for beginners. I already speak some Portuguese and still use it to go over a few aspects of grammar and vocabulary. Great method, I am very happy I bought this book.

Let's be honest here. Nothing magical will happen just by buying a language course unless you work hard. That takes motivation and the main strength of these courses seem to be the way they keep you focussed on moving forwards. Admittedly having a Brazilian girlfriend has been a bigger motivation for me, but the logical flow through the basics (which is as far as I have got in the few days since this arrived) and the continual chances to try out what you are learning by constructing your own versions of the phrases and sentences, shows how this will work.The presentation of the course book, dictionary (you may need to buy a bigger dictionary later, but this one covers the course material effectively) and 4 CDs in their gate-fold card holder, shows that the makers have paid attention to making it look inviting. It's too soon to tell whether my language skills and vocabulary will ever increase to the point where I can fluently converse with my girlfriend's family and friends, but as I said at the start you only get the benefits of any course by practicing. And now, if you'll excuse me I have some studying to do...

I used this book in conjunction with a Level 1 adult education Portuguese class. The book and CD's are both well-structured and useful.I was especially impressed with the dictionary, actually, because it places a big emphasis on showing usage examples of common words, within sentences. For example, the entry for the word "sem" ("without") contains the phrases "cafe sem acucar" ("coffee without sugar") and "sem duvida" ("without a doubt"). Really useful!

I have been playing the CDs in my car on the way to and from campus. The Rio accent amuses my friends from the Northeast of Brazil, but the lessons are helping me slowly build vocabulary, grammar, and listening comprehension.

I think this is a great product. I really like the Living Language Products, and have a few other languages. You can truly become conversational if you apply this system. Let's back up some and let me be forthcoming: If you plan to visit Brazil and get outside of the tourist trap of Rio and Sao Paulo (and there is a WHOLE wide, beautiful country and warm people awaiting you), and you think you can muddle through using English and pointing at this and that, you are going to be in for a bumpy ride! There are probably more people in China who speak English than Brazil ....and that's not saying much. And why 'should' they understand English, who are we to expect THAT?? They have their own rich culture and large country, which is what makes Brazil such a neat place to visit. So, it really behooves the traveler to Brazil to invest a little time up front and learn at least the basics. I had some Portuguese under my belt from prior visits, and studied Spanish way back in the day, but this book and CD system brought together what I had learned before (and missed) and teaches you the necessary grammer basics you need to know to become conversational, which I have become. And so can you. What I found that also helps is to augment this system with some of the helpful Portuguese language videos you can find out there which can help train your ear to understand other people speaking and their sounds and accents.I also have the Pimsleur Portuguese language system too, but I find that that system really racks my brain! They just start talking in Portuguese ...it starts simple and builds upon itself, but (to me at least) it is very frustrating to use in the car or even just by itself. Mine is a few years old, maybe the new version is different and includes a study guide. I can't go very long before my head hurts and have to stop it, and therefore I became disenfranchised. Maybe it's my small brain too?? With the Living Language system I like that I can listen and follow along with the coursebook. The coursebook helps to decipher the Portuguese accent (somewhat like French) so I can see the spoken word written down. I think that's essential. To me, the Coursebook in and of itself is worth it's weight in gold. I carried that thing all over Brazil and it was extremely helpful because when I had questions about verb tenses or sentence structure, things I studied previously but couldn't recall or wasn't clear on, I could refer back to it. But if you do listen to the CD's in the car a lot, here's a tip: listen along with the Coursebook too, because in between things on the CD are very important bits of information in the Coursebook that if you miss, and are very important to know. Just a tip I learned after spending a bunch of time using only the CD's.If I were to think of how to make it better, I would like to see the included dictionary nixed because it's too large to carry on a trip, and you can buy smaller and more comprehensive dictionarys for not that much money. Then, enhance the included Coursebook with a couple things to allow it to function as a more handy travel reference for people who actually WANT to learn the language:1) A simple english/portuguese dictionary at the end,2) Some common idiomatic expressions (slang) you're likely to hear in Brazil,3) Enhance the paperstock the coursebook is printed on with glossy paper so it is more durable and has a more quality 'feel' to it..4) Organize common verbs in an easy-to-refer to table at the back with tenses and so on ...to make it easier to refer to.Doing these things I believe would allow the coursebook to function as a turbo-charged phrasebook for people who actually WANT to learn the language, something that I don't know currently exists anywhere in the market.Anyway, nice language product. I recommend it. If you go to Brazil, have a great time! Besides Rio, it's not as dangerous as people hype. I've never felt unsafe in Brazil, besides the one time I was mugged in RIO many years ago. But I lived beyond that and last time in Rio I felt perfectly safe. Driving in Brazil is also over-hyped and is the way to go IMO.

I returned only because I didn't realize this is for Brazilian Portuguese and I was going to Portugal and not sure how different the language would be

I have learned three other languages via the U.S. Foreign Service Institute methodology, which has its roots in the WWII Army Language School courses and has been refined and refined again and again over the years. This course follows very much along the same lines, with dialogues to memorize and careful introductions of new material. The accompanying audio is excellent, providing the help I need with the difficult pronunciations of Portuguese. My biggest problem is trying to memorize, as I am now 71 years old and my mind is not as absorptive as it was when I learned French (and am still fluent) when I as 23!

The accompanying book, unlike many dictionaries (!), provides a clear, A-Z pronunciation guide, which the CD audio makes crystal clear. The lessons are all useful & not complicated. The voices are clear & pleasant to the ear.

I bought this to try to learn Brazilian Portuguese fairly quickly. Although it is called 'The Basics' it actually progresses to a quite high standard and it does indeed teach thoroughly and quickly. It uses conversation centred learning with thousands of useful phrase examples in modern idiomatic language, and conversations, feeding in the grammar after the audio learning, bang up to date with current learning theory.The current Amazon price is a complete bargain. You won't regret this purchase and you will learn a tricky language if you stick at it. It is essential to listen to the extensive Portuguese vowel, consonant and diphthong sounds which are presented first over and over until you are competent. These exercises are quite lengthy but essential to crack the language! Even better if you can go over the book with a Brazilian teacher as I did, in the end no language can be learned in isolation.

Very systematic and enjoyable. The units are very well organised.The CD is very useful.The dictionary is fantastic. True value for money.