Blee7 Newbie United States Joined 4733 days ago 11 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Portuguese
| Message 1 of 44 06 February 2012 at 6:54am | IP Logged |
Hi everyone, this is my first post as member of this community. I look forward to learning and contributing to the site where I'm able. I am from the U.S and speak English and begining the journey of learning the Portuguese Language(Brazilian). I am a newbie as to the best methods for learning and want to learn it as efficiently as possible. My wife is from Brazil and we'd like to move there when I'm able to learn the languge and get a job. Any advice/suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
mrwarper Diglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Spain forum_posts.asp?TID=Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5229 days ago 1493 posts - 2500 votes Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2 Studies: German, Russian, Japanese
| Message 2 of 44 06 February 2012 at 8:13am | IP Logged |
That may bee too open a question. I'd suggest to start Googling "X site:how-to-learn-any-language.com", replacing "X" with something a bit more specific, like methods or materials or whatever you want to know about first.
I speak no Portuguese but I'd start finding about its sound system and orthography to be able to read and write down things as quickly as possible, and build from there, but that's just me. Here you'll find advocates of every possible method. Just do a few look-ups and keep asking...
Edit: BTW, welcome! :)
Edited by mrwarper on 06 February 2012 at 8:15am
1 person has voted this message useful
|
iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5265 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French)
| Message 3 of 44 06 February 2012 at 12:15pm | IP Logged |
As an adult second language learner living with a native speaker, you do have an advantage. It's an advantage that you must use judiciously, else, you run the risk of unpleasantness in your relationship. A good way to start learning Brazilian Portuguese is by downloading the Defense Language Institute Portuguese course. It is a quite thorough course with lots of audio. DLI Portuguese Download "Basic Books" and "Portuguese" MP3. Another free resource is FSI Programmatic Portuguese. If you can get hold of the Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese course, at your library (if they don't have it ask for an interlibrary loan) or purchase, it would be a nice compliment to your other course.
Know that no course will take you to fluency. You must interact with the language, start listening early and start speaking early. Accept corrections from your wife willingly and gladly- she is the native speaker. Try to do something in the language every day. You should devote at least an hour a day. It doesn't have to be a continuous hour but you should endeavor to try to get in an hour every day. Never give up. The beginner stage can be quite frustrating but if you persevere you will make progress. Boa sorte e bem-vindo ao forum!
2 persons have voted this message useful
|
alang Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 7224 days ago 563 posts - 757 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish
| Message 4 of 44 06 February 2012 at 4:13pm | IP Logged |
In addition to the recommended programs. I suggest Semantica I and II. These are conversational Brazilian Portuguese in a bite size manner in Semantica I. The videos are longer in Semantica II. (About 10 mins. each)
A small book, but helpful in learning concepts is Margarita Madrigal's Invitation to Portuguese. Take a look at the library. That is where I found a copy. Inter-library loan is a good idea if not available locally.
3 persons have voted this message useful
|
hatulz Tetraglot Newbie Brazil Joined 4689 days ago 4 posts - 11 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Spanish, English, Italian
| Message 5 of 44 06 February 2012 at 8:40pm | IP Logged |
Hey, I'm a Brazilian native and if I can suggest anything it is:
Forget the formal language. These stupid courses will teach you "O Senhor", "A senhora". This is the
equivalent to "Sir" in English more or less, and are really only used in the army. If you call any person like
that they'll probably understand what you meant but will be kinda sad because you're calling them OLD.
Use "você" instead. It's good for both male and female. And you can decline the verb just like they teach
you.
Instead of "O senhor mora aqui?" you can say "Você mora aqui?" (do you live here?).
Um abraço!
6 persons have voted this message useful
|
Blee7 Newbie United States Joined 4733 days ago 11 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Portuguese
| Message 6 of 44 06 February 2012 at 9:52pm | IP Logged |
Thank you everyone for your advice and insight! That was a much larger response than I expected and appreciate it. I will keep everyone updated on my progress and what seems to be the most effective method. Before finding this site and doing much research I must admit that I got the level 1 rosetta stone for Portuguese. After browsing the forum it appears that most don't not agree with their program(should have researched before hand:). Anyhow I'm a pilot and need to be fluent in Portuguese before getting hired and have a goal of learning the language in 1 year. Is that a feasible goal? Thanks again!
1 person has voted this message useful
|
hatulz Tetraglot Newbie Brazil Joined 4689 days ago 4 posts - 11 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Spanish, English, Italian
| Message 7 of 44 06 February 2012 at 9:59pm | IP Logged |
Yeah, have a look at either Pimsleur or Michel Thomas, They're quite good. They're also different so you
may give them a try and see if you like any of them. I prefer Michel Thomas, but many people prefer
Pimsleur.
A few good resources for news:
www.folha.com.br ( this is more upper class and has the better news )
www.globo.com (this is more lower class and has the most popular, yet most stupid news, such as who's
doing what at the big brother tv show :P )
2 persons have voted this message useful
|
mrwarper Diglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Spain forum_posts.asp?TID=Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5229 days ago 1493 posts - 2500 votes Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2 Studies: German, Russian, Japanese
| Message 8 of 44 06 February 2012 at 11:21pm | IP Logged |
So, that's a much better request for help :)
Need to be fluent in 1 year...
Of course that's feasible, but do not let anyone deceive you: if you want to do it in one year you'll have to sweat every meter of the road. If you're ready to work hard, self-study with appropriate guidance and materials surpasses any language school.
Rosetta Stone is everyone's pet peeve around here, and I agree with that. However, I'm more the academical studies type so many won't agree with my 'ideal' method recommendations, through which we can go later. I assume you have no previous experience with other languages, and everyone here will agree that sometimes you need to walk a bit of the road and many eventually change methods. Probably no single program will suffice because all that I know of aim to get you to fluency (a very controverted term btw) over a much longer period of time.
Since you seem not to have much time to waste testing program and methods, let me share a secret: the best in the world is worth nothing if you don't work because it somehow doesn't fit you. The second best solution is to spend a bit less time (a couple of days or a week) studying the most prominent methods and self-study programs and methods what other HTLALers have to say about them. See what seems to best fit you and start with that.
Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies
Language Programs, Books & Tapes
If necessary, I can provide a personal selection of links about the general areas, because my target languages are very different from Portuguese. Meanwhile the more you tell us about you and the more specific you can be, the more accurate / useful our tips can be.
Also, if you're not sure whose advice to follow, members whose advice is deemed useful have small gold cups and a number of posts and votes next to their posts, and what languages [s]he already has under his belt. As usual, the more experienced a member is, the more realistic and less dogmatic he can be expected to be. It is not a perfect system but it still can be useful. Of course this is not intended to belittle anyone's advice but to serve as quick guidance.
Last, but not least, keep asking when in doubt!
Edited by mrwarper on 06 February 2012 at 11:27pm
2 persons have voted this message useful
|