Pimsleur Portuguese (European) Conversational Course - Level 1 Lessons 1-16 CD: Learn to Speak and Understand European Portuguese with Pimsleur Language Programs (1)

I loved that I could find CDs and use them in my car (yes I bought a car that had a CD player on purpose). Wanted to learn Portuguese before going there for a vacation and these were perfect lessons. Love the language lessons by Pimsleur. I usually go over the lesson more than once before moving on to the next CD and it's great for road trips or when you are stuck in traffic.

I think I have tried every program there is and some just did not work for me at all because I had no idea what I was learning to say. Immersion is great IF... the big "if"... I am actually in the country and can relate phrases to what is going on. Pimsleur works for me. I listen to it as I walk, drive, or sit around the house.

I worked with this some prior to my trip to Portugal. When I go back next year, I will spend more time with it. In any case, the locals appreciated that I tried to speak some of their language.I wish Pimsler would release an advanced version of this language product.

Most of it is very good. Some words are repeated many times and others that should be are not. I know they do not like to have a person depend on the written word but I am a visual learner and sometimes need to see what I am hearing. However, it was my choice to get the Pimsleur work. There is not a large selection of European Portuguese out there.

Just an enjoyable way to master the Portuguese language .. it just two weeks getting very comfortable with basic conversation!!

Learning the language through this process is very thorough. You have to be patient and listen carefully, but each time you go through a lesson you truly become more proficient. Really prepares you to hear the native people speak.

Loved this set. Pimsleur does a great job of getting you to actually speak a new language.

I have now completed all the lessons in this series, so I speak from experience. First, there is no written study guide. The lessons are based solely on audio and the speakers speak very rapidly, so it's hard to distinguish one word from the next because the words run together. The purpose is to train your ear to hear how the language is normally spoken, but for a beginner it's very difficult to get started. The phrases on the first few cds are repeated so if you don't catch it the first time you can hear it again, but in the later lessons phrases are often not repeated, which is very frustrating because you have to keep backing up the cd. Also, some words used in the conversations are not explained nor used again. The conversations are not well designed to illustrate real life situations. For instance 2 lessons focus on buying roasted chestnuts. Seriously? The last few lessons have written lists of words that you print out. This is the "reading lesson," however the list of words appears to be random; these words are NOT used in the lessons and they are not translated, nor used in any context. I can't explain the reasoning behind this strategy. I am desperate for a good Euro-Portuguese language series, and very motivated which is why I made the effort to listen and practice all the lessons despite the frustration and poor design of this series. I do not recommend it.