Better stuff to learn Portuguese?

Hey guys,

I'm trying to learn Portuguese now using Pimsleur but was wondering, are there better stuff floating around that I could use?

Taking classes or living in Brazil/Portugal for awhile isn't really an option for me now. (would've loved to though)

Thanks

 

Take me with you. Oh god, please take me with you.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

I'm learning right now (gonna knock it out before I start full time in the Summer). It helps if you know Spanish already, but the way I am doing it is as follows:

  1. I have a Brazilian internet radio station on constantly (audio).

  2. I read a Sabbath School lesson that was given to me in Portuguese nightly (my father taught himself this year and he corrects me if I pronounce anything incorrectly). Being able to read and recognize the differences from Spanish helps a lot (visual).

  3. I try to go to the Brazilian church at least once a month to interact with others (practice).

I think it will be very valuable. Especially with them being the B in BRIC. Also, if you haven't checked out the WikiLeaks, there is tons of information about the direction Brazil is taking in the future.

 

I vote for Rosetta Stone. While I haven't attempted Portuguese, I've used it for other languages and it brings you up to speed very quickly. It's no wonder Rosetta Stone is what the State Dept hands out to diplomats upon foreign posting.

I've used Pimsleur before, and it's ok, but just ok.

When I learned Russian, I actually hired a private tutor and that was really the way to go. We met for an hour three or four times a week and within about three months my Russian was passable.

If a tutor isn't an option for you though, Rosetta Stone is the way to go.

 

Couple more reasons:

Thanks guys, I'm downloading Rosetta Stone right now actually and I've signed up with livemocha.com as well, looks great for practice.

Yeah, I agree with you Ed about Pimsleur, it's not bad at all but it's not great either. My brother swears by the Chinese version though.

lucasblane, that's a great idea man, I'll make sure to do that when I get better at it, that'll be a big help for sure.

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people Jeremy
 

Pimsleur is great for conversational Portuguese and is very repetitive so that you retain what you've practiced in the previosu sessions. Rosetta Stone helps you learn the basic vocabulary very quickly and images aid your recognition of these words. It's probably best to use them together. I lived in Brazil for 7 months and visit often.

 

How are you "downloading Rosetta Stone now" ??? I paid $600 for the damn thing and I'm about to drop $600 as a Christmas gift for my sister...

I support Rosetta Stone, but you really can't JUST do that. You need to interact in the language in so many other ways. Once you get good enough, I suggest reading brazillian news online, picking up Portuguese novels, livemocha (as mentioned above), setting your electronic devices to Portuguese, etc. Surround yourself by the language and you'll start to see REAL gains.

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audaciou02:
Pimsleur is great for conversational Portuguese and is very repetitive so that you retain what you've practiced in the previosu sessions. Rosetta Stone helps you learn the basic vocabulary very quickly and images aid your recognition of these words. It's probably best to use them together. I lived in Brazil for 7 months and visit often.

Thanks, I'm starting to appreciate that about Pimsleur now, found it really boring at first but then again the constant repetition really helps. Yep, I'll be using the two together.

CompBanker:
How are you "downloading Rosetta Stone now" ??? I paid $600 for the damn thing and I'm about to drop $600 as a Christmas gift for my sister...

Found a torrent.

CompBanker:
I support Rosetta Stone, but you really can't JUST do that. You need to interact in the language in so many other ways. Once you get good enough, I suggest reading brazillian news online, picking up Portuguese novels, livemocha (as mentioned above), setting your electronic devices to Portuguese, etc. Surround yourself by the language and you'll start to see REAL gains.
Frieds:
Jorge,

I'd stick with alot of the above. If I you ask me, I'd take it a step further and find a local bar or coffee shop owned by native speakers and try to get a little conversational pratice at least 2-3 times a week.

I know when I was fluent in Hebrew (I am just extremely rusty after 7+ years of disuse), one of the things I would do is routinely use it in conversation. On Elmora Avenue, in Elizabeth (again, a Jersey thing), there used to be a large Hebrew speaking population, so when I was in high school, I'd go down that way either on Sunday with friends, or when I drove, I'd go for my lunch break (Hour lunch and a free period immediately preceeding it) and spend a half hour shooting the shit in Hebrew with the guys that worked in the restaurant or the Orthodox Jews and Israelis that ate there. Having the regular conversation is a huge thing when learning a language, as you can see things from a practical perspective.

Thanks guys and yeah, I really intend to immerse myself with this, nothing really beats constant engagement when learning another language. I'm really new to Portuguese though so it'll be a few months until I could comfortably converse so I'll be sticking with radio and magazines for the meantime.

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people Jeremy
 
Best Response

Jorge,

I'd stick with alot of the above. If I you ask me, I'd take it a step further and find a local bar or coffee shop owned by native speakers and try to get a little conversational pratice at least 2-3 times a week.

I know when I was fluent in Hebrew (I am just extremely rusty after 7+ years of disuse), one of the things I would do is routinely use it in conversation. On Elmora Avenue, in Elizabeth (again, a Jersey thing), there used to be a large Hebrew speaking population, so when I was in high school, I'd go down that way either on Sunday with friends, or when I drove, I'd go for my lunch break (Hour lunch and a free period immediately preceeding it) and spend a half hour shooting the shit in Hebrew with the guys that worked in the restaurant or the Orthodox Jews and Israelis that ate there. Having the regular conversation is a huge thing when learning a language, as you can see things from a practical perspective.

 

Really, right now I seriously hate all of you going to the Cup. God there are going to be so many honies... try not to get kidnapped tho :-p

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

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