Group Course

Instituto Cultural Idioma

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Course description

Group classes have a maximum of 9 students in a group, have four sessions per day and happen from Monday through Friday. There is always a 20-minute break after 2 sessions. So, a four-session class has its break half way through - after one hour and 40 minutes.

A group must have a minimum of 3 students. In the event that there is only one student enrolled in a group course, classes will be reduced to 50% of the regular schedule. If there are only two students enrolled in a group the classes will be reduced to 75%.

Every class at every level contains grammar, reading, and writing activities as well as interactive role-playing activities for all group members. Speaking, listening, comprehension practice, and Brazilian music complement the more formal parts of the lesson.

On the first day, students receive a book which must be acquired and paid on the spot that supports their learning process throughout the course. Inside and outside the classroom, teachers and other members of the school staff encourage the students to use as much language as they can in Portuguese, so the student can practice what is learned during the classes.

Course topics

Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, Grammar and Activities

Class schedule

Course duration
1-60 weeks
Start dates
Every Monday
Classes per week
20 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 50 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday
School holidays
15 Nov 2024, 25 Dec 2024, 01 Jan 2025

Class times

You can choose from the following class times:

Morning session
09:00 AM - 12:40 PM

Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.

Class level

All levels, beginner to advanced
You will take a placement test on your first day to determine your class level. You may also take this test before your arrival in Salvador.

Class size

Average 5 students
Maximum 9 students

Student age

Age range 18 years old and older
Average 30 years old
(27 in the summer)

Certificate

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.
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reviews

Reviews

88% recommend

based on 8 reviews
5 stars
3
4 stars
4
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
1
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"Pretty Good Experience"

Anne Marie Cancio, student from USA

The school itself was very convenient and comfortable. The teacher was good but she just stuck to the book all the time and didn,it mm didn't bring in material (like videos or reading) from the "real world." This made the class a little repetitive. I felt that there weren't enough extracurricular activities planned: usually just two per week. This left me wondering what to do with all my free time in the afternoons. The school staff was wonderful: they made coffee every day for the students to drink during out morning breaks and one day they even brought samples of local foods for us to try. The housing that I arranged through the school was both good and bad. It was good in that the host mother was excellent: communicative and caring. It was bad in that there was no air conditioning and it was impossible to open the windows given the noise on the street on the first floor. Overall the Experience was good. I would just recommend that the teacher bring in a lot more authentic material into the classroom and that several more extracurricular activities be planned each week.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
23 Sep 2024 - 18 Oct 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"If you are complete beginner, AVOID this school!"

Oleg Kolobenchuk, student from Afghanistan

It is a waste of space, time and money. If you are a complete beginner, and especially if you are not a Spanish/French/Italian native speaker, avoid this school. They do not teach and cannot teach Portuguese. What they do is correct your bad Portuguese. So if you know a lot of Portuguese words and basic grammar and want to refresh your existing and most likely broken Portuguese, then maybe you will find this school useful. Big maybe.

Another point is that do not book more than a week of classes, at any school. Pay for a week and try them out first and if you like the school, extend your stay right at the school. I regret paying for 4 weeks upfront; wasting 2 weeks of my life trying to make it work and then simply quitting the school and giving them my money as a gift. The money they did not earn or deserve. Disgusting experience.


Good luck!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
15 Jan 2024 - 9 Feb 2024
Would you recommend this school?
No
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"A small language school that makes for a personalised approach to learn Portuguese"

Alexander Rees, student from UK

The small class was great, it meant each student got a lot of attention from the teacher.
The teachers (Catia and Catrina) were amazing - really friendly, helpful and good at explaining the difficulties in Portuguese pronunciation or grammar.
Great location, really easy to find but also quiet.

It would be nice if the school could put on more cultural activities or things to do outside of the classroom. Brazil and Salvador have so much going on all the time, it would be a really great way for the students to get to know the city and the culture.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
8 Jan 2024 - 12 Jan 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"It was incredible!"

Carla Oster, student from USA

It’s a safe location in a really cute house. Everyone was warm and inviting. My teacher spoke only Portuguese and Spanish but did an amazing job communicating with me. We worked on my listening and responding skills as well as working out of the text book. On Fridays they have a cooking class, making a traditional Baiano dish. They accommodated my vegan and gluten-free diet. It was so much fun and I felt a part of a community. I really wished I booked more than one week!!!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
28 Aug 2023 - 1 Sep 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"A language school with expert dedicated staff and ,a warm welcome that gives a taste of Bahia"

Ann BERTIER, student from Belgium

The school is located in a private house sandwiched between (now) two huge appartement building in the Barra neighborhood of Salvador. The neighborhood is fairly safe, has several small shops of all kind and is within walking distance of Shopping Barra, and even of the Barra lighthouse and the beach, but expect some hills! The infrastructure is fine with several class , and rooms as well as computer facilities and water available to students. And Lara in the secretariat was always ready to provide help and suggestions.

During the first few days of the first week of my stay, I was almost alone, save for one other student who had a different level. so instead of a group course I had 2 hours of individual classes per day with one of two coordinators/teachers of the school ,who patiently helped me in my first learning steps for Portuguese.
Later on and during the last two weeks of my three week course , more participants arrived and I was in a group course. The teacher was excellent: She had a very structured and systematic approach, exuded enthusiasm and was very lively and varied in her teaching. Catia was perceptive of the strength and weaknesses of the various students and actively encouraged each one's participation. I definitely learned a lot : about grammar, pronunciation, slang, music and the general culture of Brasil. Catia is definitely one of the best teachers I have ever had.

The only point about which I was a bit disappointed concerned the limited extra-curricular activities. There was one visit to the Casa da Musica , an afternoon cooking activity and a sun-down drink at the Alliance Française. I could see that with current staff levels it might not be even feasible for the Institute to organize a lot of extracurricular activities .But it would be very helpful if - alternatively- there were some brochures available in the secretariat to indicate interesting places to visit, such as eg museums, parts of town, locations of dance or cultural courses or to provide a list of cultural events, exhibitions, concerts etc.. . taking place in the city so that students would know what is going on in town, and could discover for themselves.
It would also be useful if the Institute could suggest a newspaper, magazine/ publication/internet site which students could buy or consult to find out about events. It could certainly help for students to have a more diversified experience it they so wish.
Finally, at a risk of revealing my age :a physical map of the city on the wall of the secretariat would also be nice :-):-)
I

I did not use the housing facilities as I was staying with a private family I knew before coming;

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
24 Jul 2023 - 11 Aug 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Fast and Effective Local Language Skill Building"

Mercy Neal, student from USA

I attended Instituto Cultural Idioma while working at the local university. The combination of immersive language use in my professional and personal life and courses that I could take at the speed I needed allowed for really amazing language learning. The staff were skilled and provided language frameworks that helped contextualize the language I was learning to use elsewhere. My trip to Brazil wouldn't have been the same without the school.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
6 weeks
Date of study
12 Jun 2023 - 28 Jul 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"The school is very nice and Maria is very kind... Location is also safe"

Stephanie Holzer, student from Italy

The school was very nice. The teacher also. They were very friendly and helpful.

What I did not like was the following: I booked one week. Because of carnival the school did not start on Monday as I booked, but on Wednesday. I could stay with the family the days before which was great. I started school on Wednesday and I asked when I could make up the two missing days and if it would be possible the upcoming week. She told me it would be ok. So I came to class on Wednesday morning and she asked me around 12 noon if I could stay in the afternoon to make up the class. I told her no, because I already planned to meet with to architects friends of my uncle. So she told me no problem. Since the secretary told me I could make up class also next Thursday and Friday I booked a trip to the chiapada diamantina. As I left on Friday she handed me a bill. I asked her what that was for. She told me for the two additional days. I told her I was in school for three days and booked five. So she told me she will talk about that to the administration. So I had one day on Thursday and no day on Friday, because Thursday was private and that was a lot of discussion that I did not have to pay it extra.

Anyway everything else at the school was perfect and also very recommendable.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
School location
Housing
Date of study
20 Feb 2023 - 24 Feb 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Was Top"

Hendrik Geessink, student from New Zealand

Was all good. Very happy with everything. No complaints.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
4 Jul 2022 - 15 Jul 2022
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
housing

Housing

ICI offers the following housing types:
homestay

Homestay - Single-person room - Breakfast

S$ 261
weekly
Age range: 18 years old and older
Location: In the city center of Salvador
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast (7 meals per week)
Facilities: Kitchen, computers, wireless internet, and free internet
Distance to school: 5 - 15 minutes by walk
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
S$ 261
All accommodation options are in the beautiful Barra district, as is the school, within a maximum of 15 minutes’ walk. Provided are towels and bed linen (changed weekly). 100% of accommodations have wireless internet access. There are launderettes nearby that offer a full service at outstanding prices for students to have their clothes washed.

In order to make the students stay in Salvador as comfortable as possible, ICI devotes a great deal of attention to accommodation assignments. All housing is checked periodically to make sure that
apartment

Shared apartment - 2-person shared room - No meals

S$ 261
weekly
Age range: 18 - 70 years old
Location: In the city center of Salvador
Housing type: Shared apartment
Room type: 2-person shared room
Board type: No meals
Facilities: Kitchen, computers, wireless internet, free internet, tV room, and other
Distance to school: 7 - 15 minutes
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Saturday, anytime
Check-out: Sunday, anytime
S$ 261
Another new accommodation option is sharing an apartment with one or more Brazilians, which is similar to the home stay, except that breakfast will NOT be included. The student will be allowed to use the kitchen to prepare his own meals. We communicate with the client when planning this accommodation option, to select the flat mates who have the most in common with the client. Our bank of flat mates spans a wide age range.

Sharing an apartment with Brazilians is meant for those who prefer a more independent and economic lodging option. Sharing an apartment with Brazilians means that students have their own room in an apartment where Brazilians live. Most of flats have just one or two Brazilians living there. All flats have been visited by the school's staff and all of them are located within walking distance of the school and the beach.
visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you.

Flights and airport transfer

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Salvador based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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questions

Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from Instituto Cultural Idioma staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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