Idioma´s service team is happy to help you and can speak and understand both English, German, and a little Spanish, too, until you feel comfortable speaking Portuguese.

We accept cash payments in Dollars, Reais, bank transfers, national bank cheques, as well as payment by Visa and Master credit cards.
*All payments must be paid by the first class*

Besides the course and accommodation fees, there will be teaching material of 10 to 15 Reais per week, depending on the Portuguese level. Additional instruction material is already included in the course price.
If you wish to participate in field trips or activities that involve travel or entrance fees, you have to pay for this yourself.
If you want to be picked up at the airport, somebody from the school will wait there for you upon your arrival, holding a sign with the school’s name and your name on it. We charge 85 Reais.

In case of a host family, pousada, or hotel stay that is booked by Idioma, you won’t need an accommodation deposit. A deposit is need only if you would like a short-term apartment. Usually the owner wants to have at least half of the month’s rent in advance via bank transfer (depending on the length of the stay).

After the confirmation of the host family, pousada or hotel, we will provide you with the address of the place and, if you don’t need to be picked up at the airport, we’ll give you directions on how to get there. However, if you want to be picked up at the airport, somebody from the school will wait there for you on your arrival, holding a sign with the school´s name Idioma and your name on it. He will bring you directly to your accommodation. We charge 85 Reais.

The host family stay can start 5 days before your course starts and can be extended 5 days after course completion. The host family price is based on 7 nights per week. If your stay were to start in the middle the week, we would add the corresponding days to your bill. For example: If you want to stay with a family for 11 nights, you will pay 1 week and 4 nights. If you opt for a pousada, hotel or apartment the arrival and departure date will be charged for the number of days in which you will be staying.

Usually you should come on Monday morning at 08:15h to the school. There our student’s service team and teaching staff will welcome you. If you are an absolute beginner then there is no need for a short test, but we still want to talk to you a little in order to understand what you are looking for in your language course. If you already know some Portuguese than one of our teachers will talk to you to assess what level would be most appropriate. In case of a one-to-one Portuguese course you can start on any day of the week. Lessons usually will be in the afternoon, from 13:30h to 17:00h. On the first day you should come at 13:30h to clear up any paperwork and your objectives for the course.

The regular group course (with 4 lessons per day), is from 09:00-12:30h (each lesson lasts 50 min and there’s a little 10 min. break after the first two lessons). The intensive group course is accompanied by 2 additional lessons in the afternoon, from 14:00-15:10h. Individual lessons generally will be held in the afternoon, from 13:30h to 17:00h, if there’s no availability in the morning.

All teachers at IDIOMA are native speakers, with a University education. They offer a great deal of solid teaching experience and an understanding of various teaching methods, which they can use according to the student’s needs. And, of course, they love teaching our students! Continued training is the personal responsibility of all our trainers. They have been trained to teach Portuguese as a foreign language and are constantly coached by weekly teacher meetings.

Idioma is located along the marvelous coast side of Salvador in a calm and safe neighborhood known as Barra. It is very close to many tourist attractions such as the Barra Lighthouse (Farol da Barra) and the historic town center, Pelourinho (about 15 min by bus).

On our website at the contact us page, you will find a little map that will help you find our school.

Idioma is open from Monday to Friday, from 08:00h to 18:00h and is closed on weekends.

The school respects national holidays and the regional holiday São João. (6/24) Therefore closed on the following dates in 2007/8:

2008:	01/01; 04/02-08/02 (Carnival); 21/03; 21/04; 01/05; 22/05; 24/06 (São João); 25/12

If a lesson is missed due to a holiday, Repositions will be offered during the same week of the holiday. For all regional holidays, classes will be held as normal.

We have a maximum of 7 students per group, as we´d like every student to receive plenty of personal attention.

You are expected at Idioma on the first morning of your course at 08:15h. There you will be welcomed by our staff who will give you a short test (only if you are not complete beginner) and talk about what you desire from a language course. With this information we’ll be able to identify, which level and group would be ideal for you.

Our group courses are generally divided in 5 basic course levels and cover grammar, conversation, Brazilian culture, literature, Brazilian music pedagogical field trips etc.
As every case is different, it could happen that we will divide groups once more in between one level in order to provide the best educational enviroment.

Foreigners who would like to travel to Brazil and as well take a Portuguese language course (i.e for 3-4 weeks) in a private language school, can apply for a tourist visa, as it does not concern an academic activity, providing any graduation or post graduation. This applies just to stays that doesn´t exceed 180 days within a period of 12 months.

For longer language courses than 180 days, foreigners would have to apply for a student visa and can study just in institutions who are officially recognized by the Brazilian Ministry of Education. These language studies can´t be done in a private language school as they are “cursos livres” and therefore not recognized by the Brazilian government.

The minimum student age is 16. Please consider that all courses are designed for adults and there is no teen specific course. If you find that this is acceptable for your child you need to fill in the enrolment and sign it on behalf of your child.

Idioma strongly recommends all students have an adequate travel and medical insurance for the duration of your journey, which is best taken out in your own country.

The following are the recommended vaccinations for Brazil.

Hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for all travelers over one year of age. It should be given at least two weeks (preferably four weeks or more) before departure. A booster should be given 6-12 months later to confer long-term immunity.

Typhoid vaccine is recommended for all travelers, with the exception of short-term visitors who restrict their meals to major restaurants and hotels, such as business travelers and cruiseship passengers.

Yellow fever vaccine is recommended for people nine months an older traveling to areas in Brazil where there is yellow fever, which includes all areas in the states of Acre, Amapa, Amazones, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sol, Minas Gerais, Para, Rondonia, Roraima, and Tocantins, and parts of the states of Bahia, Parana, Piaui, Rio Grande do Sul, and Sao Paulo. Yellow fever vaccine is recommended for Iguacu Falls, but is not necessary for the coastal cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador, Recife, and Fortaleza.

All travelers should be up-to-date on routine immunizations, including Tetanus-diphtheria, Measles and Varicella (chickenpox).