Instant Portuguese (Teach Yourself Languages) |
| |
|
|
Author:
Elisabeth Smith
By Teach Yourself Books
Average Customer Rating:   
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: £7.22
|
|
|
|
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 9780340866856
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0340866853
Label: Teach Yourself Books
Manufacturer: Teach Yourself Books
Publication Date: 2003-06-01
Publisher: Teach Yourself Books
Studio: Teach Yourself Books |
|
|
|
Not bad for a first taste of Portuguese, 2003-02-09
For such a small book with only 95 pages, this course gives you a good start. I liked the way it involves the learner, with a progress chart. The flash cards help too. It is fun and stimulating, with a certificate at the end. It is all very communicative but it gives you quite a bit of grammar that helps you understand and make your own sentences. This is on the good side, but there are some typos and this is annoying. The Portuguese word for tennis is spelt sometimes with an acute accent, others with a circumflex accent. I am told that one is the European spelling, the other the Brazilian spelling. Perhaps it does not matter, it is only an accent.
Good format but language done in a hurry, 2000-05-11
Recently I have read through "Instant Portuguese" with great care. I haven't listened to the accompanying tape. There are some very good pedagogical ideas in this little book which is directed at people from the UK visiting Portugal. The lay out is very good indeed, with well designed exercises, and the flash cards are an excellent idea. However the biggest flaw is the Portuguese itself which is wobbly and inaccurate mostly due to the incorrect and sometimes inconsistent use of accents. For instance: cash point is 'uma caixa automática', not 'uma caixa automâtica'. Tennis starts as 'tênis' (page 27) and then when you turn the page is 'ténis'. There are some grammatically wrong sentences mainly to do with incorrect use of verbs. Let's start with the verb 'ser' (page 21) where we find '... O empregado e muito lindo'; it should have been '... O empregado é muito lindo'. A terrible mistake to make as 'e' is a conjunction not a verb. By the way in Portugal 'lindo/linda' is reserved for babies or flowers and the like, never for a handsome waiter. I think that most people there would say 'giro' instead of 'lindo'. Other examples are: 'consertar-lo' when it should have been 'consertá-lo' or 'o consertar' (page 19); 'podia-me ajudar' when it should have been 'podia ajudar-me' (page 37), etc. The INSTANT verbs list (page 56) is mostly correct except for the first person of the past tense of verb 'crer' which is 'cri' and not 'creí'. "Instant Portuguese" has an excellent format but left me with the feeling that the language was done in a hurry. In my view it could do with a serious revision for a further edition because as it is I would not recommend it for my students.
|
