The first thing that caught my attention when I picked up this book was the odd title. I read the title out loud, “The Everything Learning Brazilian Portuguese Book” and I wondered if it was a clever play on words that I did not completely understand or maybe it was just written incorrectly. I was slightly put off by the cover but because it was such an oddly-titled book curiosity got the best of me.
As I flipped through the pages of this book I was immediately drawn in by how well organized and detailed each chapter was. The first chapter starts off by laying down the basics of pronunciation; listening comprehension is also focused on from the very beginning and there is a lot of attention placed on syllable stress and intonation. I have to say that I really enjoyed how nasal and oral pronunciation was explained from the very beginning and I also enjoyed how the importance of proper vowel pronunciation was highlighted at the end of the first chapter.
"I really enjoyed how nasal and oral pronunciation was explained from the very beginning and I also enjoyed how the importance of proper vowel pronunciation was highlighted at the end of the first chapter."
Each chapter that follows focuses on a specific topic or language structure while putting reading, listening, and writing skills to use. The 20 chapters in this book will help familiarize yourself with basic grammar structures like verb conjugation, ser/estar sentences, using adjectives to describe people and a number of other useful topics. You will also cover a wide variety of cultural topics specific to Brazil such as: celebrations, history, common Brazilian dishes, television, and cinema, and popular music. In the last two chapters you will find a section with some phrases and words which can be useful when travelling to Brazil. In the final chapter there are also a few activities to help students use Portuguese in more social and informal situations (meeting friends, small talk, parties, etc.).
This book is a great starting point for beginner students and I feel it covers some very important aspects that many course books do not bother to explain in detail (informal words, slang, cultural facts). After working with this book students will be able to speak and understand basic phrases, but it will not prepare them to move on to a higher level. This book focuses a lot of attention on vocabulary, but I feel that it needs more grammar based activities. Plenty of grammar rules and examples are provided, but what I didn’t see was enough activities that the student could work on to help them retain this information.
This book can be bought with or without the CDs and in Kindle edition. I would recommend buying the full package of the book even if the price ends up being higher than what you planned to spend. It is extremely important to have the CDs since every chapter works with listening comprehension. I could even go so far as to say that without the audio activities, this book is practically useless since the reading and writing activities closely relate to the audio exercises.
Students who are already studying Portuguese and independent learners will get the most benefit from this book. It may be useful to have a teacher or tutor as well, but it is not entirely necessary, at least not for this level. Teachers might also find this book useful, but I would not recommend using it as the main textbook for a class. In order to get the full benefit of the course and prepare yourself for the pre intermediate level I would recommend working with another book such as Essential Portuguese Grammar by Alexander da R. Prista.
