The Pimsleur® Method of Learning the Language of Brazil
Brazilian Portuguese is the language of Brazil, and in fact, it is the only country in South America where Portuguese is spoken. Portuguese is part of the Latin Romance family of languages and has similarities with Spanish, Italian, and French. Brazilian Portuguese differs from that spoken in Portugal just as British English differs from English spoken in the United States.
English is not commonly spoken in many regions of Brazil, but it is taught more often now in school to the younger generation. Given the amount of international business and tourism in Rio de Janeiro, it's becoming more common to find English spoken by its middle class Brazilians. People working in the tourist industry are often hired based on their English language skills. Hotel desk clerks and Tour Guides will speak English, but rarely will you find English speaking waiters, taxi cab drivers, small shop owners, beach vendors, bar tenders, etc.
Therefore, it's best to take along a Portuguese phrase book, or better yet, learn a little of the language before taking your Rio de Janeiro vacation.
The Pimsleur® Method of Language Learning
Learning the basics of a foreign language doesn't have to be a time consuming, lengthy, and costly undertaking. In today's fast paced world, few adults have the time to attend language classes and for several hours a week.
The Pimsleur® Method may very well be the fastest and easiest way to learn conversational Portuguese. "The fine art of asking questions which will encourage the learner to induce the grammatical basis for answering the question, not only correctly, but also with the appropriate sounds of the new language as it delivers the meaning involved, is what enables the programmed Pimsleur course to make language acquisition happen whenever the audio is heard."
These language programs are based on a few principles:
Graduated Interval Recall - Dr. Pimsleur discovered that if his students were reminded of new words and information at gradually increasing intervals within a set amount of time, each time they would remember the word or information longer than the time before.
Principle of Anticipation - systematically asking for understanding and responses create the principal of anticipation which accelerates learning and increases understanding.
Core Vocabulary - core words are mastered and used consistently to provide a framework for accelerated language learning.
Organic Learning - Your brain does all the work and when you need a word, it’s there – totally integrated and totally seamless.
For first time visitors to Brazil, we recommend the inexpensivegoPortuguese course, which includes eight 30-minute language lessons on four audio CDs and a reading book with more than 50 Reading Lessons. As a bonus, the course is provided in MP3 format as well, so you can learn on-the-go!
For those who wish to earn to carry on simple conversations with a near-native accent, ask for and give basic directions, exchange money, handle basic travel, and deal with social demands confidently: we recommend the Comprehensive Brazilian Portuguese 1 course, that includes 15 hours of spoken language practice and one hour of reading instruction in thirty, 30-minute lessons.
Watch short video for an overview of this language learning program:
Listen to a Free Brazilian-Portuguese Lesson !
Click on the start button in the widget below, to listen to Pimsleur's Brazilian Portuguese Lesson #1. It's the actual 30 minute lesson and will give you an idea of what to expect in the course.