Semi Intensive - General Portuguese

Trend(s) Language Solutions

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Course description

The Semi-Intensive course is for kids and teenagers who want to maximize their language learning practice during their stay but also have some free time to enjoy Belo Horizonte's main attractions. The courses focus on speaking and communication skills. The classes stress the use of language in everyday situations. In 2 lessons each day, students will work on grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary, reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Topics include: fluency practice, media studies, games, film and theater, local culture, current events, and research using the internet. Intermediate and advanced students also have the option of studying test-preparation.

Course topics

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

Class schedule

Course duration
1-52 weeks
Start dates
Every Monday
Classes per week
5 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 50 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday

Class times

You can choose from the following class times:

Afternoon session
03:00 PM - 04:00 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.

Class size

Average 2 students
Maximum 3 students

Student age

Age range 16 - 65 years old
Average 40 years old
(25 in the summer)

Certificate

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

Photos

  • City of Belo Horizonte 1/53
  • City of Belo Horizonte 2/53
  • Waterfall in the state 3/53
  • Belo Horizonte landscape 4/53
  • The state of Minas Gerais 5/53
  • Classroom at Trend(s) Language Solutions 6/53
  • Classroom at Trend(s) Language Solutions 7/53
  • Classroom at Trend(s) Language Solutions 8/53
  • Classroom at Trend(s) Language Solutions 9/53
  • Common room at Trend(s) Language Solutions 10/53
  • Entrance to Trend(s) Language Solutions 11/53
  • Common room at Trend(s) Language Solutions 12/53
  • Homestay housing offered by Trend(s) Language Solutions 13/53
  • Homestay housing offered by Trend(s) Language Solutions 14/53
  • Homestay housing offered by Trend(s) Language Solutions 15/53
  • Homestay housing offered by Trend(s) Language Solutions 16/53
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  • Homestay housing offered by Trend(s) Language Solutions 19/53
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reviews

Reviews

100% recommend

based on 17 reviews
5 stars
16
4 stars
1
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"Excellent school. You will definitely learn Portuguese at an accelerated rate."

Thomas Trumpbour, student from USA

This is an excellent school with very caring people. Learning requires a commitment and there are exercises that do require a fair amount of time to complete. The staff does take any issues you are having during your stay seriously and will help you with anything you are concerned about. They even helped me with my application to extend my visa. I highly recommend this school to anyone wanting to improve their Portuguese no matter what level you are at.

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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 Feb 2020 - 13 Mar 2020
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Really good"

Olga Tsypkina, student from Russia

I needed to refresh my Portuguese and significantly improve the fluency. The school absolutely met my expectations - I had one-to-one classes with Aguinaldo and he was super, exactly the teacher I needed. He also was flexible with schedule, so I could have 2 full days of excursions (Ouro Preto and Inhotim - I recommend both very much). Aguinaldo helped a lot with advise on logistics for both excursions and other practical matters. I lived "in a family" with a very friendly and helpful hostess.

I liked very much my experience.

Language International gave me 1 month subscription for Portuguese course at Babel - it was a good thing for refreshing grammar and main vocabulary before attending the school.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
29 Apr 2019 - 3 May 2019
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"I loved learning Portuguese at Trends"

Juanita Davis, student from USA

I had a wonderful and creative teacher. Also stayed with a delightful and very helpful home stay hostess in a nice section of Belo Horizonte near museums. It was a very rich experience that I won't forget

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
18 Mar 2019 - 5 Apr 2019
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Matched my expectations"

Sonja Zeiler, student from Germany

I had an individual Course with a really nice teacher. His English was good, so he could explain some difficult grammatical matters to me. I learned a lot about the culture of Brasil.

The location of the school is near the City centre of BH and close to a lot of restaurants.

I didn't go on activities with the school, but my teacher gave me good advise for my own activities.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
4 weeks
Date of study
12 Nov 2018 - 14 Dec 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"The experience met my expectations completely."

John Moffatt, student from Austria

I was totally satisfied with the experience. The teacher, Aguinaldo, was excellent. He spoke only Portuguese, which was exactly what I wanted. He was knowledgeable and patient. He provided the materials. The school was located in a nice, central location, easy for me to get to. Aguinaldo was flexible with the times and adapted to my needs.
I had applied for a class and received one to one lessons, which I preferred.
There were no social activities outside the lessons. Some schools have offered this and it was nice.
The school is very small but has adequate facilities. I liked their small library of reference books.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
19 Nov 2018 - 23 Nov 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Amazing instructors and great location!"

Celene Bolaños, student from Mexico

The teachers are really, really amazing and make the classes enjoyable. I took private lessons for two months and I was really able to improve my fluency- I can now speak comfortably in Portuguese about any topic. It's also in Savassi, which is a really nice area- a lot of restaurants and shops nearby.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
8 weeks
Date of study
18 Jun 2018 - 17 Aug 2018
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Short but meaningful"

Michele Migliosi, student from Italy

I attended a semi-intensive Portuguese course at Trends Language Solutions in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. I was there for just 2 weeks, but it was very useful for me. I liked a lot the teacher, Aguinaldo; and I liked the extreme flexibility of the hours of the lessons. The zone where the school is located is very nice and easy to reach. I think that the price is a little high, also considering that you could find yourself in a class of 2 or 3 people. But I was lucky because accidently I had two weeks of private lessons; in this case the price is more acceptable.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
School location
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
8 Jan 2018 - 19 Jan 2018
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 a welcoming place with great teachers located in a nice part of town!"

Elise Beck, student from Afghanistan

I really enjoyed the classes I had here. My professor was very patient and helped to tailor the lesson to focus on my weak points and really improve my language in a short amount of time. The language school is in a nice part of town, really close to a lot of great museums and the Praça da Liberdade. They always offered water (especially important during the summer when I was there) and coffee, and made sure I was feeling comfortable! There were options for outside of class trips that I would have loved to take part in if I had more time there! They were also flexible with the class times and very accommodating. I really do not have any complaints.

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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
2 Jan 2017 - 20 Jan 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Awesome"

Alberto García Ríos, student from Mexico

My experience in Belo Horizonte was amazing.

I stayed for three week classes in Belo Horizonte and at the end I spent one week on vacation in Rio de Janeiro, by that time Brazilians were amazed at how fluent I could speak Portuguese.

The classes were great, all the staff was great very helpful. Lara, my teacher, is a very kind person and very professional, Luciano is always asking me for any concerns any doubts that I may have or ideas for places I wanted to know. Raquel was also very helpful and very kind, always with a smile on her face. Cecilia the substitute teacher was also very professional.

Lara joined me in exploring Minerirao, the stadium of Cruzeiro and also to some museums and Praca da Liberdade etc.

The location of the school was great. Savassi is the best area in Belo Horizonte, a lot of restaurants, students, places to hang out and the housing was near the area in Santo Antonio like a 35 min walk .

Renata was also very kind, she picked me up from Rodoviaria (Bus station) and accompanied me there when I went to the airport, the apartment was really comfortable.

I would gladly recommend Trends.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
2 May 2016 - 20 May 2016
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"My 'walking and talking' classes were a great way to improve my Portuguese and see more of Belo Horizonte!"

Alizah Brozgold, student from USA

Compared to 15 other language schools I've attended in Latin America (a large sample), I would say that my favorite parts of the Trends experience were: 1) my great teacher and 2) the very comfortable housing accommodations and welcoming host family.

The location, facilities, and staff at Trends were all fine and staff (especially Luciano and my teacher, Bruno) worked hard to make sure that everything went smoothly (e.g. with planned outings with my teacher). Since there was only one other student there at the same time as me, there weren't really any opportunities for activities with other students. In fact, Trends is really more of a translation-focused business than a school at this point. Other language schools I've attended have offered many more activities (cultural outings, cooking/dance classes, weekly dinner with other students and teachers, etc.). As such, I would not recommend the school to someone who is looking for a range of social activities provided by the school with other students. I would recommend the school to someone like me who already has an intermediate level of Portuguese and who is interested in doing what I did, i.e. walking and talking classes with a teacher.

I would say that the only thing I did not like was waiting for definite confirmation of my host family details.

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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 Apr 2016 - 15 Apr 2016
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"I had a wonderful experience specifically with Ludmylla, my instructor, and with Trend's staff."

Yael Segalovitz

My experience in Trend(s) Language Solutions generally was wonderful. Ludmylla, my teacher, was professional, welcoming, patient, and willing to read literary materials in which I had special interest. I feel like I've made a real progress under her supervision.

The staff''s overall attitude was also great (Luciano and Aguinaldo especially). I felt very much at home at the school. The facilities and the location of the school were also very convenient.

I think the only obstacle in the experience at the school had to do with the communication prior to my arriving. I was in touch only with Maggie Debski who sent me the confirmation of my Portuguese course and my health insurance certificate. I never heard of the Brazilian staff before and so could not delineate to them what my expectations from the classes were and what my level of Portuguese is. I think this prior communication could have definitely improved my experience at the school. For that very same reason, no one from the school was in touch with me during the first day of classes. I didn't know what time to be at the school and who my teacher was.

I would have also liked to speak with the Brazilian staff in order to hear their opinion with regard to the apartment my husband and I rented in the area. On the same note, I found the help of Trends with housing limited. I've arrived to Brazil with my husband and Maggie wrote me beforehand that Trends had no housing solutions for couples. I think that more guidance in this regard could have been very helpful.

Nevertheless, once I was at the school and met Luciano and Ludmylla, everything changed. From that moment on, I had the experience of a life time! I truly thank them for their warm welcome and their professional and friendly guidance all through my stay!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
10 Jun 2013 - 28 Jun 2013
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"It was really great and the teacher and the other people working there are really nice."

Jolan Stevens

I really had nothing to complain about, everyone was very friendly and nice to me all the time. The classes were good and always fun. The location was good for me cause it wasn't too far away from where I was staying so I could walk. I would certainly follow classes again and I hope to do so in the future.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
5 weeks
Date of study
18 Jun 2013 - 23 Jul 2013
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Trends provides a very inviting atmosphere and optimal conditions to improve your language skills."

Roger

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Trends. Their teachers meet you at your current level and raise the bar high depending on your specific objectives/needs concerning Portuguese in a way that would be impossible to accomplish in a large classroom setting. I had tried some classes at another school where 20-30 students were grouped together, and walked away frustrated by the slow pace and how seemingly pointless the classes were in comparison to what I needed to be able to survive day-to-day situations in Brazil. Beyond this, most of the other students were Spanish speakers and had a completely different approach to Portuguese. At Trends, I found a very friendly and comfortable environment where I could bring my specific questions as I lived the language outside of class while also receiving excellent guidance from their instructors.

I would highly recommend Trends to those looking to improve their Portuguese at their own pace and classes aimed at their specific needs while in Brazil.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
11 weeks
Date of study
1 Mar 2011 - 18 May 2011
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"The instructors were excellent and very helpful."

Kenneth Cavett

The teachers and staff were wonderful. Transportation to the facility was difficult, but I learned it. The facilities were nice.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
8 weeks
Date of study
11 Jun 2012 - 10 Aug 2012
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Very good."

Greg Aimer

The classes were perfect for me. Only 2 hours a day in the morning which suited me.
The 2 teachers I had were very good. Good variety of teaching skills.
Location was great. Very safe. Very close to restaurants, bars, parks.
I was invited to social activities and had lunch on many occasions with people from the school.

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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
9 Oct 2013 - 17 Oct 2013
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Full and complete place to learn portuguese"

thiago rivero

amazing place to be and learn portuguese. A nice crew and a very immersive methodology.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
1 Oct 2013 - 21 Oct 2013
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Trends was a way to learn language with truly experienced teacher and high quality"

thomas petitprez

I had a few classes a week in the offices. It was not so big but the organisation allowed us to have a private teacher in a comfortable room with all the material need for the course. Teacher were native speaker with good skills and adapted the program to what we needed. The location was really good, downtown in a nice neighborhood and everyone was always really friendly over there.

I liked the flexibility of the teacher, willing to bring up the language level (that was my target) rather than teach you standard stuff.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
30 weeks
Date of study
1 Jan 2009 - 31 Jul 2009
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
housing

Housing

Trends Belo Horizonte offers the following housing types:
homestay

Homestay - Single-person room (En Suite)- Breakfast

S$ 443
weekly
Age range: 18 - 75 years old
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast (7 meals per week)
Facilities: Private bathroom, kitchen, laundry, free internet, tV room, 24/7 supervision, and garden
Distance to school: 10 - 15 minutes by bus
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
S$ 443
This is a unique experience in a single room with private bath in a luxury apartment in Belo Horizonte. Several students already experimented and had outstanding experiences with the family. A private maid from the house ensures to organize the apartment and prepare breakfast, which is served from 8 to 10am.
apartment

Shared apartment - Single-person room - No meals

S$ 321
weekly
Age range: 18 - 65 years old
Location: South or Downtown area
Housing type: Shared apartment
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: No meals
Facilities: Kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, and free internet
Distance to school: 10 - 20 minutes by bus
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, anytime
Check-out: Saturday, anytime
S$ 321
Shared apartments are usually the home of single Brazilians who live near our school.

They are carefully selected and offer students the opportunity to learn more about the local culture in a comfortable setting while studying Portuguese in Belo Horizonte.

These homes are often between 10-20 minutes away from the school by public transport.

If you have special requests or diet restrictions (because of religious or health reasons), please let us know in advance. Students must be 16 years of age or older.
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 Belo Horizonte 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 Trend(s) Language Solutions staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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