A common question in our group is "I want to learn Portuguese. What should I do? Who can teach me?". This discussion will attempt to give you some answers regarding: teachers in the Bay Area, methods of learning, and lessons learned.

To all our members, please share information on these topics here.

Personally, I have tried several ways of learning: books, music, lessons, travel.

I learned by taking small group classes in person, and found it to work very well. I can recommend Carlos Vasconcelos of the Portuguese Brazil School: http://portuguesebraz... He is very good and can explain things that other teachers I have tried could not (such as the idiosyncrasies between the languages).

The best results I have had are from traveling to Brazil and being surrounded by only Portuguese. It can be a little daunting at first, so I would do the lessons first.

While I was taking lessons, I have also used the Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese Language Program to be helpful. It is audio CD's that you listen to and speak along with. Their teaching and practicing method is quite good. Not better than real classes, though.

My favorite Portuguese language book is "501 Portugese Verbs". It is good because it has the verbs fully conjugated in every possible tense and has examples too. This has been the core of learning the language for me -- to get familiar with the main verbs and how to use them in different scenarios.

Hope this helps.

OI,

There is also a really cool website called sonia-portuguese.com You will find lots of useful information and brazilian recipes to try out(translated to both English and Portuguese). Sonia is also selling her portuguese textbook along with a CD room.
If you don't know how to pronouce a word, this website has a link that you can click on it hear on to say.
I hope this helps

My favorite Portuguese language book is "501 Portugese Verbs".

Yes. I can't imagine how I would've gotten by in Brazil without this book.

I studied mainly with the Rosetta Stone courses before going, and while I would say they're a good supplement to a normal conversational language course, they're certainly no substitute...

But then, there's really no substitute to finding a real-live person to sit and conversate with you, as the everyday spoken Portuguese is just a little different from the kind you'll find in textbooks.

I'll probably see some of y'all at Golden Gate today... not that I'll know you when I see you, but I'll be there.

Oi, pessoal :)

I love this discussion. Of course I am totally biased because I teach Brazilian Portuguese :)

Language is fascinating and very powerful. It shapes the human experience. It is much more than the ability to communicate opinions, ask for information, express needs, and make requests. Language is intimately related to social identity and to how we interpret the world.

I was born and raised in Brazil, and am an expert in my language. I offer Brazilian Portuguese Classes and Inter-Cultural Coaching for individuals and organizations. The emphasis is in street smart language. I teach the Portuguese that you do not learn in textbooks, using software, or in your traditional language school.

I invite you the visit my web site:
StreetSmartBrazil.com

For cultural and language tips, check out my blog:
StreetSmartBrazil.blogspot.com

SUMMER PORTUGUESE COURSE

JUNE 23 to AUGUST 13
Tuesdays & Thursdays
6:30 pm to 8:15 pm
In San Jose

LEARN PORTUGUESE HAVING FUN: CONVERSATION, MUSIC, food, NEWS, TV.

Please visit the website with all the info, faq, and bios and a specific email for questions:
http://idiomaesquisit...
idiomaesquisitoATgmail.com

Does everyone want to learn Brazilian or regular Portuguese? My great grandmother was from the Azores and to honor her I'd like to learn old-fashioned Portuguese if possible. Any suggestions, or should I just cut my losses with Brazilian Portuguese? (Plus I speak spanish and I bet European Portuguese is closer to Spanish)

Looks like I was already beaten to the punch on answering this, seeing as my Teacher has already responded... but, I can at least recommend StreetSmartBrazil.com
Luciana is a great teacher, and her classes are reasonably priced, and very flexible. You are offered either classes in -person, or web-cam classes for a bit cheaper. Either way, she can definitely work with you. Call or email ASAP.
StreetSmartBrazil.com

I have to agree with Michael. See my Yelp review for full details. http://www.yelp.com/b...

I have varios CD's if anybody is interested..

I have
1.) Portuguese for Dummies both the book and CD
2.) Travel Talk- Brazilian Portuguese
3.) The Everything (r) Learning Brazilian Portuguese Book
4.) Coloquial Portuguese of Brazil 2 CD's and Book
5.) Living Language Complete Portuguese The Basics 3 CD's Lessons 1-40
6.) Pimsleur Instant Conversation Lessons 1-16 (total 8 CD's)

if you have interest in any of these, please contact me:
faveladodarocinha (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) br

thank you

Zezinho