Score:
1 2 3 4 (5) 6 7 8 9 10
“Five outta ten!”
Pros:
price, especially if you send away for the free CD/cassette; plenty of conversational back and forth; difficulty increases progressively; each example is highlighted by slightly different variations to practice
Cons:
exercises require repeating and assimilating but without much guidance from the course; some topics are useless [...]
Oct
1
2009
1
2009
Cortina Conversational Brazilian Portuguese: The Easy Method by Williams & Pessoa
Sep
28
2009
28
2009
goPortuguese: Speak and Read AudioBook CD (Pimsleur)
Score:
1 2 3 4 5 6 (7) 8 9 10
“Seven outta ten!”
Pros:
good way to sample the Pimsleur method; decent booklet accompanies the course; strong Portuguese audio lessons; coverage of the basics; MP3s and standard audio CDs for diverse ways of using the program
Cons:
Brazilian Portuguese only (a “con” for European Portuguese learners); these first eight lessons [...]
Sep
21
2009
21
2009
Speak in a Week Brazilian Portuguese, Week 1, with Audio CD
Score:
1 2 3 4 5 (6) 7 8 9 10
“Six outta ten!”
Pros:
engaging, easy to use phrasebook approach; good pacing; audio complements booklet; attractive, lightweight package
Cons:
hard to search for specific information (words and phrases); for beginners only; makes no attempt to approach to conversation or grammar; Brazilian only (which is only negative if you’re traveling to [...]
Sep
3
2009
3
2009
Teach Yourself Brazilian Portuguese Complete Course (Book & CDs) by Sue Tyson-Ward
Score:
1 2 (3) 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
“Three outta ten!”
Pros:
multiple dialogues per chapter; price
Cons:
choice of vocabulary and phrases seems random and uninspired; the Portuguese introduced is of the textbook variety; incomplete coverage of grammar
Teach Yourself Brazilian Portuguese isn’t an awful entry in the TY series, but it isn’t stellar by any means. Its [...]
Sep
2
2009
2
2009
PORTUGUESE in 10 Minutes a Day (book and CD-ROM) by Kristine Kershul
Score:
1 2 3 4 5 (6) 7 8 9 10
“Six outta ten!”
Pros:
lots of simple exercises to keep pace quick; useful words and phrases; lovely presentation; colorful, attractive drawings
Cons:
nearly entirely vocabulary-driven; price for such a basic knowledge; lots of repeat and rewrite; Brazilian only (a “con” if you’re learning European Portuguese)
Overall, I’m ambivalent about Portuguese in [...]
Sep
1
2009
1
2009
The Everything Learning Brazilian Portuguese Book: Speak, Write, and Understand Portuguese in No Time by Fernanda Ferreira
Score:
1 2 3 4 (5) 6 7 8 9 10
“Five outta ten!”
Pros:
price; exposure to useful Brazilian Portuguese; conversations and phrases don’t sound “textbook-ish”; material is well organized
Cons:
dry presentation; lack of relevant conversation topics covered
Call me crazy, but I have trouble keeping “Everything”, “Dummies” and “Idiot’s” guides straight. And that applies to their Portuguese lessons, too. [...]
Aug
6
2009
6
2009
Portuguese For Dummies, by Karen Keller
Score:
1 2 3 4 5 (6) 7 8 9 10
“Six outta ten!”
Pros:
straightforward, relaxed presentation; good fluent real-life phrases; audio CD with dialogs; price
Cons:
lots of notes and silly explanations may distract some learners; Brazilian only (a con for European learners); some mistakes in text; odd phonetic approximations/pronunciation key may distract others (including me)
The For Dummies series [...]
Aug
6
2009
6
2009
Portuguese: Start Speaking Today! (Language 30series) by Charles Berlitz books.
Score:
1 (2) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
“Two outta ten!”
Pros:
a good many of the basic phrases you’d need to just survive (but not all!); a small dose of exposure to the spoken language
Cons:
short sections on grammar more of a distraction; very limited in scope; disorganized; learning means repeating along with random phrases; Brazilian-only [...]
Aug
4
2009
4
2009
Rosetta Stone Version 3: Portuguese (Brazilian), Level 1 with Audio Companion
Score:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8) 9 10
“Eight outta ten!”
Pros:
connects ideas with words well; good coverage of basic phrases and conversation; great image and multimedia-rich presentation; useful activities
Cons:
markets itself as the be-all-end-all of language learning, but isn’t; basic phrases are very standard and not as “fluent” or realistic as some courses; vocabulary-heavy; Portuguese [...]
Aug
4
2009
4
2009
Portuguese (Brazilian) I: Learn to Speak and Understand Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs, 2nd Revised Edition
Score:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8) 9 10
“Eight outta ten!”
Pros:
immediate and consistent exposure to the spoken language; no drawn-out explanations; variety of phrases and conversational topics; justifies its price, particularly for auditory learners
Cons:
listen & repeat/assimilate may challenge some but delight others; higher price tag; audio-only may discourage bookish students; no explanation of grammar [...]