Rating: 
Summary: bamboozeled by the big whigs
Review: Disappointment does not begin to express the disgust I feel for this recent swindle. I am practically fluent in french thanks to Living Language (complete course & ultimate manual work well together) so i decided to give these tapes a try.One question: why is the package brazilian but the book and tapes continental? Don't they think i knew what i wanted when i ordered? Alright, that's two questions, but never the less, these are the same questions i asked the folks at L.L. in my e-mail. Not surpringly, there was no reply. I was already aware that there were many pronunciation differences between the two forms of portuguese, which is why when i specifically ordered brazilian, that's what i thought i'd get--Silly me. Folks, in this case, misery does not love company--please save your money... Has anyone seen Bogey? I've been had!
Rating:
Summary: bamboozeled by the big whigs
Review: Disappointment does not begin to express the disgust I feel for this recent swindle. I am practically fluent in french thanks to Living Language (complete course & ultimate manual work well together) so i decided to give these tapes a try and they slip me this mickey.One question: why is the package brazilian but the book and tapes continental? Don't they think i knew what i wanted when i ordered? Alright, that's two questions, but never the less, these are the same questions i asked the folks at L.L. in my e-mail. Not surpringly, there was no reply. I was already aware that there were many pronunciation differences between the two forms of portuguese, which is why when i specifically ordered brazilian, that's what i thought i'd get--Silly me. Folks, in this case, misery does not love company--please save your money... Has anyone seen Bogey? I've been had!
Rating: 
Summary: pretty good course
Review: I think the Living Language course is pretty good for Continental Portuguese considering most books are focused on Brazil and rarely on Portugal. It does have more than a few errors in spelling which can be misleading and which are especially bad to those learning a new language. Overall I recommend it, I learned more from it than a 200 level course in Portuguese at the university.
Rating: 
Summary: Its OK
Review: I used this course and it was fine. However, I think that the Pimsleur courses are much more usable. I have since bought a 2nd home in Brazil, and speak quasi-fluent Portugese. I listen to all the different courses I have for refreshers from time to time, and I consistently find that the Pimsleur program is superior.However, this is a fine supplement, and you can learn from it things not on the Pimsleur program.
Rating:
Summary: Its OK
Review: I used this course and it was fine. However, I think that the Pimsleur courses are much more usable. I have since bought a 2nd home in Brazil, and speak quasi-fluent Portugese. I listen to all the different courses I have for refreshers from time to time, and I consistently find that the Pimsleur program is superior. However, this is a fine supplement, and you can learn from it things not on the Pimsleur program.
Rating:
Summary: great, easy, comprehensive, and portable
Review: I was an exchange student in Brazil. This course was such a vital tool to my success there and to my success at a now fluent speaker of portuguese. The course comes with a dictionary that has the most valid and up-to-date essential vocab words that I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty. If you only buy it for the dictionary it'd be worth, yet the course with the audio help is priceless when really trying to pick up a language.
Rating: 
Summary: Cuts too Many Corners, Not What I Expected
Review: I'm glad I have this set, since I do use the dictionary extensively. I even took it with me to Brazil. The learning book (and two cassettes) is not the best structure for beginners, in my opinion. I do find alot of value in the 120+ page appendix, which includes verb conjugations, etc. But if you're just starting out, I'd recommend the Foreign Service tapes. And if you're interested in contemporary Brazilian music, check out Marisa Monte. Que gostosa!
Rating:
Summary: Good addition to library
Review: I'm glad I have this set, since I do use the dictionary extensively. I even took it with me to Brazil. The learning book (and two cassettes) is not the best structure for beginners, in my opinion. I do find alot of value in the 120+ page appendix, which includes verb conjugations, etc. But if you're just starting out, I'd recommend the Foreign Service tapes. And if you're interested in contemporary Brazilian music, check out Marisa Monte. Que gostosa!
Rating:
Summary: Cuts too Many Corners, Not What I Expected
Review: My fantasy: I would prepare for my trip to Portugal by listening to tapes while driving to work, learning the language naturally, supplementing by skimming the textbook included and using the dictionary/ phrasebook when I got there. The tapes would be natural conversations where it would be easy to pick up phrases and pronunciation by context ("what's your name?" "My name is Mary", etc.) Without a huge effort, in a couple months I'd be able to get by. The reality: The tapes contain only a vocabulary list of the words used in the textbook. Therefore it's impossible to get anything from the tape without reading the book at the same time- can't be used in the car. The words are all out of context, just a list read aloud. So much for "learning naturally". The book is written for Brazilian Portuguese even though the tape (and package) is continental. The deviations are noted in footnotes-- but detailed descriptions on how to pronounce everything in Brazilian are hard to get through if it happens to have a different pronunciation on the tape. Even the chapter on different dialects misses a wonderful opportunity to make up for this shortcoming by not saying the same word with the different accents, as the book suggests it will-- the tape contains only the continental pronunciation and gives no reference point. For a bestseller, I expected a whole lot more. All the same, I have learned some phrases. The first five lessons are the hardest to get through, and I probably will get through most of it in a couple months if I don't give up in disgust.
Rating: 
Summary: The Only Inexpensive Basic Portuguese Course
Review: Portuguese is one of the most spoken languages in the world. It's unfortunate that such a beautiful language is ignored, because people who actually want to learn it have a hard time finding a company that offers Portuguese courses. Living Language is the only company that offers cassettes in both Brasilian and Continental Portuguese. So when I decided to learn Portuguese, I bought both courses. Unlike the dozen cassette Foreign Service Institute's Portuguese Course (which is actually in Brasilian Portuguese), the Living Language course gives the learner the basics in two cassettes. The forty lessons on the two cassettes are designed in steps. The first four lessons are about pronounciation. There is a noticable difference in the pronounciation and syntax of Brasilian and Continental Portuguese, and Living Language does a very good job in structuring both courses so that the learner is not confused. I also like the Living Language courses because if you follow the directions, they ensure that you will learn the basics of Portuguese. Living Language offers the best variety of basic courses, and it's the only company that offers an inexpensive Portuguese course. If you want to learn Brasilian or Continental Portuguese, this is the company to pick. And remember that after you learn the basics, the best thing to do is to take a trip either to Brasil or Portugal and practice. Immersion will keep the language fresh in your head. I hope you enjoy learning Portuguese as much as I did.
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