by admin | 25 Mar, 2019 | Uncategorized
Learn Portuguese + App for iPhone by Vidalingua Are you looking for way to practice Portuguese when you are not in class? Smartphone Apps can be a great to way to complement what you learn at school. Vidalingua is one of the leading developers of language apps with over 12 million users. We partnered with Vidalingua to bring you a special offer at the end of this review. Learn Portuguese + is a new app by Vidalingua that includes 101 lessons, 1190 phrases and 3536 exercises to help you become fluent in Brazilian-Portuguese. It’s a fun way to learn because it includes interactive exercises to perfect your language skills. The Vidalingua method focuses on phrases that you can use immediately in class or on a trip to Brazil. Lessons like Greetings, Essentials and Useful Expressions can teach you how to get a conversation started. If you are preparing for a trip to Rio de Janeiro, lessons such as Buses, Youth Hostels and Directions will help you organize your stay. Once you are ready to hit the town, lessons like Eating Out, At a Café and Nightlife will help you make the most of your trip. Understanding Portuguese is a good start but speaking is critical. Learn Portuguese + includes advanced speech recognition to help you master pronunciation. Your can practice speaking at your own pace until you build the confidence to talk to others. When you enter the Pronunciation exercise screen, you hear the phrase spoken in Portuguese. You can tap on the phrase to hear it pronounced again. When you are ready to try to pronounce it yourself, tap...
by admin | 19 Jan, 2019 | Blog, Uncategorized
The secrets of acarajé After practical experience Greg felt inspired and decided to share what he learned. By Greg Grassi Sometimes, my constant talk about food pays off. I was supposed to meet Luciana, one of my Portuguese teachers, for an individual class when she sent me a Whatsapp message (the preferred method of communication for most Brazilians) with a simple question: “Have you tried acarajé yet?” While I am fluent in the basics of Brazilian cuisine, I am still a novice when it comes to regional foods so I only had a vague idea that acarajé was something from Bahia. Luciana suggested we meet for a “practical class” instead to try acarajé from a street vendor in our shared neighborhood of Botafogo. Vamos lá, I thought. Let’s do this! Luciana and I met at a cafe in Botafogo (near the subway) and talked about the history of acarajé before we tasted it. Luciana encouraged me to talk to Anna, the Bahian proprietor of the stall and while I was a bit intimidated at first, Anna was extremely patient with my questions (and my Portuguese) and turned out to be a passionate advocate for her native cuisine. We learned other facts about the dish all while Anna helped a steady stream of regulars at her immaculate station. As a result of the conversations with Luciana Anna, learn the following information: Origens Acarajé is a Bahian delight with a long and colorful history. Acarajé has religious origins and represents one of the best known Afro-Brazilian dishes in Brazilian cuisine, although many Brazilians I know admitted they...
by admin | 1 Aug, 2018 | Blog
Samba, a rhythm in transition Ir order to study the history of Brazil without any books, just listen to samba Written by Marcelle Bottini Fala Brasil School offers samba class | dance and its history. This is a part of the lesson material. History The samba was born in Brazil with the Africans who came as slaves to the country. This rhythm was inspired by tribal and religious sounds, but had acquired a completely new meaning with the people who would one day be named as Brazilians. It is possible to say that samba is the soul of the people of Brazil. It started in Salvador with the Africans at the same time that Brazil was born as a country in the midst of a cultural fusionism. The Africans brought it with them their religion named “candomblé”. During their ceremonies they presented many musical rhythms that gave origin to many Brazilian musical styles. Among them, the samba. The slaves played samba in a circle of people – “samba de roda” – in the senzalas to tolerate the sadness. Many historians attribute to this moment the roots of the well-known Brazilian happiness. With the black people, this cultural manifestation came to Rio de Janeiro. Bahia had a large part of its black population, and Rio was similar to a European cosmopolitan capital. Donga, João da Baiana and Pixinguinha were the first samba players of Rio de Janeiro and gathered at Aunt Ciata’s house in Praça Onze. There was batuque, samba roda and good food. The famous “choro” rhythm – translated to english it means “cry” – was the fusion between...
by admin | 1 Aug, 2018 | Blog
Regaetton class, from Venezuela to Fala Brasil School In partnership with Abraço Cultural, Fala Brasil School received a latin dance class Written by Isabella Herdy On Saturday, the 28th, we received a class of Regaetton in partnership with Abraço Cultural. Abraço is a non-governmental organization that promotes the exchange of experiences through the training of refugees in Brazil. With their own methodology and teaching materials, they train refugees to teach English, French, Spanish and Arabic, as well as promote cultural exchanges between teachers, students and guests of all nationalities! During the month of July we were invited to host the Latin dance class at Fala Brasil House, and of course we could not have been happier with this invitation! The lesson was given by the incredible Venezuelan dance teacher, Jeison (@jeilnz) who for almost an hour made all the guests have fun and sweat. In addition we had Venezuelan guests selling Patacones, mojitos and cuba libre, that made the conversation between the guests render until late. We, at Fala Brasil, value the cultural exchange inside and outside the classroom. In our classes we always take Brazilian culture to our students, but we also like to hear what they have to bring to us. Giving in our space to show a little of the culture of a country that is going through such difficult times is very important and rewarding. And seeing so many Brazilians having fun and experiencing this culture shows the importance of this incredible work of Abraço Cultural. We hope to receive many more events like this and always promote this exchange that...
by admin | 26 Jun, 2018 | Blog
A fish eye view of Brazil The best way a student ever describe his experience in Brazil. Stories like that makes all the work make sense!!!! Well it was 9-00 AM in the morning, the flight from Miami just landed in Tom Jobim international airport, Rio de Janeiro. Tired from being on a long flight from Dallas, Texas to Rio I reluctantly get up to get out. First time in Brazil for a dude, who spent all his life growing up in Texas, to me it was just another Mexico. However, is it? not at all, far from being a Mexican getaway for me. Before coming to Rio I did some research about the city, city seems to be exotic, the food, culture, beaches, and the mountains. However, the highlights back home in USA was on the crime, the favelas and other derogatory remarks. Anyway, with mixed emotions I set my feet in the city of gods and imagine it is going to be all right, as I know a little bit of Spanish – really, let us see. Took a cab to my hotel in Copacabana and then first bummer, people here speak Portuguese, which is very different from Spanish. Many Spanish speaking people will say they know Portuguese , but if you love Tex-Mex food and you go to a restaurant and say I want “pinto beans” you are game, if you do not know the meaning of the word “pinto” check it out using Google translator. Slowly I started learning the language, the carioca way, which in Rio is the coolest way to learn the language,...
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