I had 6 months to learn enough Portuguese before my trip to Mozambique, Africa. Pimsleur's program has given me a great beginning to the basics. My daughter (living in Africa) shares that my dialect is spot on. She is very impressed with how far I've come with no background in the language. I am on the last CD in the program with 5 months of time to absorb more. This finds me needing an intermediate to advanced program. This is the only short-coming I can find. I also found myself craving a workbook. However, I would recommend this for anyone who has not studied the language. The audio is extremely effective and really gets the dialect inside your head. They say speaking is 20 times more effective than reading. I think it is a positive that it has left me wanting more.