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Get Started in Beginner's Portuguese: Teach Yourself
This product is most effective when used in conjunction with the corresponding audio support which is sold separately (ISBN: 9781444105544)
(copy and paste the ISBN number into the search bar to find these products)
Are you looking for a course in Portuguese written for the absolute beginner who has no experience of learning a foreign language? Get Started in Portuguese will give you the confidence to communicate in Portuguese.
Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online.
The emphasis of the course is placed on communication, rather than grammar, and all the teaching is in English, so that you will quickly and effortlessly get started in Portuguese.
By the end of this course, you will be at Level B1 of the Common European Framework for Languages: can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.
Learn effortlessly with new, easy-to-read page design and interactive features:
NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.
AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.
USEFUL VOCABULARY
Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.
DIALOGUES
Read and listen to everyday dialogues to help you speak and understand fast.
PRONUNCIATION
Don't sound like a tourist! Perfect your pronunciation before you go.
TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.
EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of Portugal.
TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.
(copy and paste the ISBN number into the search bar to find these products)
Are you looking for a course in Portuguese written for the absolute beginner who has no experience of learning a foreign language? Get Started in Portuguese will give you the confidence to communicate in Portuguese.
Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online.
The emphasis of the course is placed on communication, rather than grammar, and all the teaching is in English, so that you will quickly and effortlessly get started in Portuguese.
By the end of this course, you will be at Level B1 of the Common European Framework for Languages: can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.
Learn effortlessly with new, easy-to-read page design and interactive features:
NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.
AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.
USEFUL VOCABULARY
Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.
DIALOGUES
Read and listen to everyday dialogues to help you speak and understand fast.
PRONUNCIATION
Don't sound like a tourist! Perfect your pronunciation before you go.
TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.
EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of Portugal.
TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.
- GenresPortuguese Literature
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2010
4 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 24, 2020
I have to admit that this review will be colored a bit by the fact that it comes with a cd that I was unable to use because I don't happen to have access to a computer with a cd rom drive and the cd was not an audio cd that I could play in my car. This review is therefore not as complete as it would have been otherwise. The fact that this particular review is of a book that was meant as a companion to a cd program does mean that my own use of this book was not as great as it would have been otherwise, and that is a bit of a shame. That said, those who get this book and want to enjoy all of what it has to offer would do well to make sure that their computer has a cd-rom drive so that they can enjoy the lessons on the computer that this book comes with, because otherwise this is not a very exciting book to read and not really the sort of multimedia experience that the author of the book intended for readers to enjoy in order to learn Portuguese better.
The book portion of this work is about 200 pages included the answer key and small dictionary, and it is divided into seventeen generally short chapters. Before the main contents of the book there is some information about the author, a discussion of how the book works, as well as a guide in learning to learn, pronunciation, and useful expressions. After that the book begins with basic courtesies and greetings (1), moves on to asking where people are from (2), and then discusses where we live and work (3). After that there is a discussion of family (4), personal tastes (5), as well as what is at home (6) and part of one's daily life (7). There are units on how one spends free time (8), holidays (9), and how one engages in transportation (10) and traveling (11). Going back and forth (12) and shopping (13) and eating out (14) take up some lessons, as well as feeling ill (15), accommodations (16), and distractions (17). Finally, the book ends with an answer key, small dictionary, and numbers. The book is helpful, if not very exciting, and is clearly meant to be used with the cd rom as it is rather plain and unexciting on its own. And I am reasonably certain that it was meant to be exciting and interesting.
While my appreciation of this work was incomplete compared to what yours will hopefully be, I can say that the text portion of the book is at least worth looking at even if it is nowhere near as exciting as it would have been otherwise. I previously listened to this series when I was doing a self-study for Catalan, and that particular option had exercises that I was able to listen to in my car, so it was a bit disappointing that this was not the case for the Portuguese volume, although I'm not sure why this was the case, as it appears to have been an .mp3 CD-ROM. The book/disc advertises itself as being an example of a learner-centered approach that includes tips on learning how to learn, having outcomes-based learning, involving the discovery system for rules and patterns and involving self-tracking, and it manages to be between the A1 and A2 level of Portuguese for those who pay attention to such matters. Overall my experience with the book was soured a bit by the technical difficulties but if your experiences is better you may appreciate it more than I did, for what it's worth.
The book portion of this work is about 200 pages included the answer key and small dictionary, and it is divided into seventeen generally short chapters. Before the main contents of the book there is some information about the author, a discussion of how the book works, as well as a guide in learning to learn, pronunciation, and useful expressions. After that the book begins with basic courtesies and greetings (1), moves on to asking where people are from (2), and then discusses where we live and work (3). After that there is a discussion of family (4), personal tastes (5), as well as what is at home (6) and part of one's daily life (7). There are units on how one spends free time (8), holidays (9), and how one engages in transportation (10) and traveling (11). Going back and forth (12) and shopping (13) and eating out (14) take up some lessons, as well as feeling ill (15), accommodations (16), and distractions (17). Finally, the book ends with an answer key, small dictionary, and numbers. The book is helpful, if not very exciting, and is clearly meant to be used with the cd rom as it is rather plain and unexciting on its own. And I am reasonably certain that it was meant to be exciting and interesting.
While my appreciation of this work was incomplete compared to what yours will hopefully be, I can say that the text portion of the book is at least worth looking at even if it is nowhere near as exciting as it would have been otherwise. I previously listened to this series when I was doing a self-study for Catalan, and that particular option had exercises that I was able to listen to in my car, so it was a bit disappointing that this was not the case for the Portuguese volume, although I'm not sure why this was the case, as it appears to have been an .mp3 CD-ROM. The book/disc advertises itself as being an example of a learner-centered approach that includes tips on learning how to learn, having outcomes-based learning, involving the discovery system for rules and patterns and involving self-tracking, and it manages to be between the A1 and A2 level of Portuguese for those who pay attention to such matters. Overall my experience with the book was soured a bit by the technical difficulties but if your experiences is better you may appreciate it more than I did, for what it's worth.
December 8, 2021
Finished this course and really enjoyed it.
Focusing on European Portuguese, it teaches you useful vocabulary and enough grammar to be able to construct your own basic sentences (especially if you've also got a dictionary on hand). Crucially, it does this without overwhelming the reader with grammatical terms that may be unfamiliar if this is your first time learning another language.
It covers a range of situations you might encounter while on holiday - from introductions and finding your way around, to being able to order food and talk about interests and hobbies. Verb-wise, it's focused on the present tense, with some basic past tense forms introduced at the end. Usage of the future tense is introduced in a handful of sentences about weather forecasts, but nothing more complex than that. The verbs are mostly regular, with only the most essential irregular ones introduced. It keeps things as simple and beginner-friendly as possible.
The only downside was that the CD wouldn't work in my regular CD player, possibly due to the way the tracks are numbered (1.1 for Unit 1, track one, 1.2 for Unit 1, track 2 etc). It *did* work when I put it in a DVD player and could scroll through the track listing on screen. I didn't try it on the computer, but I would hope it also works if played through your PC/laptop.
Apart from that, it was easy to complete and gave me a genuine sense of progress as I moved through the units. It provided me with the basics, but also makes me feel confident and enthusiastic enough about the language to want to take my Portuguese studies further. If I can find some more books. There don't seem to be as many resources available for Portuguese compared to Spanish, but this is a solid start.
Focusing on European Portuguese, it teaches you useful vocabulary and enough grammar to be able to construct your own basic sentences (especially if you've also got a dictionary on hand). Crucially, it does this without overwhelming the reader with grammatical terms that may be unfamiliar if this is your first time learning another language.
It covers a range of situations you might encounter while on holiday - from introductions and finding your way around, to being able to order food and talk about interests and hobbies. Verb-wise, it's focused on the present tense, with some basic past tense forms introduced at the end. Usage of the future tense is introduced in a handful of sentences about weather forecasts, but nothing more complex than that. The verbs are mostly regular, with only the most essential irregular ones introduced. It keeps things as simple and beginner-friendly as possible.
The only downside was that the CD wouldn't work in my regular CD player, possibly due to the way the tracks are numbered (1.1 for Unit 1, track one, 1.2 for Unit 1, track 2 etc). It *did* work when I put it in a DVD player and could scroll through the track listing on screen. I didn't try it on the computer, but I would hope it also works if played through your PC/laptop.
Apart from that, it was easy to complete and gave me a genuine sense of progress as I moved through the units. It provided me with the basics, but also makes me feel confident and enthusiastic enough about the language to want to take my Portuguese studies further. If I can find some more books. There don't seem to be as many resources available for Portuguese compared to Spanish, but this is a solid start.
January 31, 2016
It's going to take more time and practice for me to fully comprehend Portuguese, I found this Audio book very helpful, however it's easier for me to read Portuguese, than it is for me to engage in listening and speaking. But I don't fault the book, I fault my own learning curve.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews