Idioma´s service team will be happy to help you until you feel more comfortable speaking Portuguese. We speak and understand English, German, and a little Spanish too.

We accept cash payments in cash (Reais), bank transfers, national bank cheques, as well as payment by Visa or Master Credit Card. In case of international bank transfers, the student is responsible for any fee charged by the bank.
*All payments must be paid no later than the first day of class*

Besides the class and lodging fees, there will be teaching materials costing 10 to 15 Reais per week, depending on the Portuguese level. Basic instructional materials are already included in the tuition.
If you wish to participate in field trips or activities that involve travel or entrance fees, you will 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. The pric for this service is 85 Reais.

If IDIOMA books a host family, pousada, or hotel stay for you, you won’t need to pay a lodging deposit. A deposit is necessary only if you would like a short-term apartment. Usually the owner wants to have at least half of a 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 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 and your name on it. He will take you directly to your lodging. We charge 85 Reais for airport pickup.

The host family stay can start 5 days before your class starts and can be extended 5 days after completion of the class. The host family price is based on 7 nights per week. If your stay were to start in the middle of the week, we would add extra 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 included in the number of days you will be staying.

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

The regular group class (with 4 sessions per day), is from 08:50-12:30h (each session lasts 50 min and there’s a little 10-min. break after the first two sessions). The intensive group course includes 2 additional sessions in the afternoon, from 13:30-15:10h. Individual (one-on-one) classes  are generally 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 degree. They offer a great deal of solid teaching experience and an understanding of various teaching methods which they can apply based on each student’s needs. Of course, they love teaching our students too! Continuing training is the personal responsibility of all our instructors. They have been trained to teach Portuguese as a foreign language and are regularly coached and updated in weekly teachers' meetings.

Idioma is located near the marvelous coastal side of Salvador in a calm, 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 the Contact Us page of our website, you will find a little map that will help you find our school.

Idioma is open Monday through Friday from 08:00h to 18:00h. It is closed on weekends. If requested we can provide one-on-one classes on Saturday.

The school respects national holidays and the regional holiday São João (June 24). Therefore there are no classes on the following dates in 2010:

Classes missed because of a holiday can be made up on other days during the student’s stay.For all regional holidays, classes will be held as normal.

We assign a maximum of 8 students to a group because we want every student to receive plenty of personal attention.

You are expected to arrive 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 a 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 best for you.

Our group courses are generally divided into 5 levels and include grammar, conversation, Brazilian culture and literature, Brazilian music, pedagogical field trips, etc.
As each case is different, it could happen that we will divide a group into two groups of the same level in order to provide the best educational environment.

Foreigners who would like to travel in Brazil and take a Portuguese language class (i.e. for 3-4 weeks) in a private language school can apply for a tourist visa, as it is not a question of an academic activity involving graduate or post-graduate work. The tourist visa applies only to stays that do not exceed 180 days within a period of 12 months.

For language classes longer than 180 days, foreigners must apply for a student visa to do coursework in institutions which are officially recognized by the Brazilian Ministry of Education. Private language schools ("cursos livres") are not recognized by the Brazilian Government.

The minimum student age is 16. All courses are designed for adults and there is no teen-specific class. If you think that your child can handle such a situation, please fill out the enrollment form and sign it on behalf of your child.

Idioma strongly recommends that all students have adequate travel and medical insurance for the duration of their stay in Brazil. It is best to arrange for that insurance 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 cruise ship passengers.

Yellow fever vaccine is recommended for people nine months and older traveling to areas in Brazil where there is yellow fever, which includes all areas in the states of Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Goias, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins, and parts of the states of Bahia, Paraná, Piaui, Rio Grande do Sul, and São Paulo. Yellow fever vaccine is recommended for Iguaçu Falls, but is not necessary for the coastal cities, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Recife, and Fortaleza.

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