i know spanish will probably be everyones response, because it'd probably be more useful, but portuguese just sounds like it'd be pretty cool. so:
1. which do you people recommend?
2. which teacher?

3/21/2006 7:24:57 PM

Yea obvioulsy spanish b/c i run into a lot more spanish speaking people than portuguese. I dont know your major but dont take the business specific spanish class, you have to learn a lot new vocab b/c its business terms intead of normal stuff like foods and furniture.

3/21/2006 7:38:35 PM

spanish chicks are hot

brazillian chicks are hotter

3/21/2006 7:43:17 PM

the two are close. If you learn one, you can probably learn the other. I would go with the Portuguese because it is the harder of the two and it should be easier for you to pick up the spanish later or on the side.

3/21/2006 7:55:55 PM

^^haha i'm a girl, so i don't care which are hotter.

it'd be nice to get these out of the way in the summer, but there's no portuguese in the summer. wanted to do something different i guess.

^hmm.. portuguese is harder? dang. my roommate had spanish, and she was always doing work for it or studying. i read on here that the portuguese teacher is really nice, but there's only one class. spanish has summer classes and is offered a lot more. have you taken either?

[Edited on March 21, 2006 at 7:57 PM. Reason : .]

3/21/2006 7:55:56 PM

^^the two are similar, but if you know one, that doesn't mean you know the other. you might be able to pick up context with a slow speaker, but that's about it.

i know both languages, and i'm probably a little biased, but i'd learn portuguese. brazil is a wonderful country. but if you wanted to use the language professionally, i'd go with spanish, since there are much more spanish speakers than portuguese speakers.

3/21/2006 8:40:32 PM

hm. it's just to fill a requirement, not so much as it will actually be applied in my life. i guess spanish would be better when potential employers are looking at my resume, but portuguese is something different, and i would love to travel to brazil. pft, i don't even know which language is more widespread. probably spanish..

rudeboy, have you taken any classes here? or did you learn somewhere else?

3/21/2006 8:55:18 PM

my parents are brazilian and i lived there....i took spanish for 5 years in middle and high school. if you put portuguese on your resume, most places will tell the one brazilian working there, and they will come speak with you. since it's not a very common language to know.

3/21/2006 9:02:34 PM

spanish seems the most practical. i think going for the practical one, and trying to learn the other one later might be beneficial. i’ve had 1 elementary, 1 middle school, 3 highschool & 3 college Spanish classes and i really can't speak spanish fluently, but i can have reasonable conversations on chat systems with people who speak spanish or portuguese just by knowing some spanish.

3/21/2006 9:05:45 PM

I would go with spanish simply because you must practice the language in order to learn it. The U.S is the second largest spanish speaking country in the world, and that means that there are obviously people all around you that know are fluent.

I practice all the time with random strangers that I don't really know: I just start off with a "como esta?" and see where that goes. Most people around raleigh will chat with you for some time. In most restauraunts you can order your meal using spanish. the potential is great, master spanish first and then Portugese.

[Edited on March 21, 2006 at 9:12 PM. Reason : p]

3/21/2006 9:12:12 PM

hmm. who are good professors to take? i'm really hesistant about taking them over the summer, still. but then it kinda seems like a good idea bc you could finish it faster..

3/21/2006 9:13:46 PM

Leo Villa-garcia, well, both the Garcias is great, but if you want conversation, I am taking his class now and it is very helpfull.

3/22/2006 1:20:47 PM

Go with spanish


Since I hear portuguese is filled with a crap load of stem changers etc.

Not that spanish doesnt... heh

3/22/2006 1:27:30 PM

I learned alot in Dolan's Spanish class and she had a good balance of the right level of work and the right level of fun to make it a learning experience that wasn't painful.

Sendra is a grad student. But being our age it’s easy to relate to her and be open with her. She has a stronger accent than some other professors, but you get used to it.

Kennedy was a really sweet professor. It was the only of the 3 Spanish classes in college that I didn't do so well in. But the first two were summer courses and this one was over the fall so that could explain it partially. She has an interesting teaching style. It involves alot of class activities, coloring, games, and social learning exercises. I'm not sure if that teaching style fits well with the way I learn or not. But I can't say anything bad about her, b/c she was really nice and she won’t let you get a bad grade as long as you try, even if you don't really learn the material.

3/22/2006 1:32:12 PM

i would learn portuguese bc I have friends who speak it... and brazil has hawt peoples....but spanish is easier

3/22/2006 3:47:34 PM

thanks so much for all the advice, and especially the info on professors!

3/22/2006 4:34:41 PM