The B1 Portuguese for Foreigners course is designed for adults (aged 18 or over) who already have a basic knowledge of the Portuguese language and are looking to improve and develop their communication skills, being able to express themselves about personal and familiar subjects in a simple and coherent way.
As a distance-learning course, it gives all foreign learners the chance to study Portuguese and learn about Portugal and its culture, particularly those who until now wouldn’t otherwise get such an opportunity.
The course adopts an intercultural approach based on teaching and learning as a way of examining students’ knowledge of themselves and others. Teaching and learning is a way of promoting the Portuguese language and culture and a means to gradually increasing multilingual awareness across different cultures.
Aims of the course
Ultimately, when the course is finished, students will be able to understand the main questions when interacting with someone speaking about familiar subjets in standard and clear Portuguese (work related matters, school or leisure). They will be able to deal with most situations encountered in places where Portuguese is widely spoken. They will be able to converse in a basic and consistent manner on their favourite subjects and discuss issues in which they have a personal interest. They will be capable of describing their experiences, events, dreams, hopes and ambitions, as well as giving reasons for their opinions.
Concerning language skills, the student will specifically be able to:
Oral comprehension
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Understand the main talking points in conversations about work related matters, school, leisure, etc.;
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Understand the main talking points in most television and radio shows about current matters or specific subjects of personal or professional interest, when Portuguese is spoken in a relatively slow and clear way.
Reading
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Understand standard everyday texts or work related texts;
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Understand descriptions of events, feelings and wishes, as in private letters.
Oral interaction
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To be able to deal with most situations that occur during a trip to a Portuguese-speaking region;
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Spontaneously join any conversation about a familiar topic or a relevant matter of personal interest such as family life, leisure, work, trips and current topics.
Oral skills
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Use expressions in a simple way to describe experiences and events, dreams, wishes and ambitions;
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Explain and justify opinions and plans;
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To tell a story;
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To talk about the plot of a movie or a book;
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Describe one's reactions.
Writing skills
- Be able to write an articulate text about familiar topics in a simple way;
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Be able to write a letter describing experiences and outlooks.
Course structure and teaching methods
The course is divided into twelve weekly modules covering the following five skills:
- Reading;
- Oral comprehension;
- Grammar;
- Written expression;
- Oral expression.
Students are expected to spend six hours per week working on the various course activities:
- Self-study: Reading and listening to materials relating to the course modules; doing tasks and a variety of exercises, including grammar;
- Personal tutoring: Thirty minutes of oral interaction byweekly with the respective course tutor; interaction through the website forum to solves any doubts, problems and any other issues students might have.
The schedule for oral interaction with the tutor will be set at the beginning of the course and will continue throughout its entire duration. Exceptional situations requiring a change of schedule will need to be agreed with the tutor.
Course duration
The course lasts for twelve weeks.
Tuition fee
250 €
Assessment
Assessment is continuous and based on the following criteria:
- Regular access to the platform/course segments;
- Queries submitted either by email, via the forum or by using the comments function;
- Completing the online exercises;
- Taking part in reading, speaking and grammar-based activities;
- Writing texts on specific subjects (written exercises will be assessed by the course tutor);
- Interaction on Skype, with question and answer sessions based on certain subjects (oral assessments are immediately carried out by course tutors).
Completion of the course depends on the student’s participation in at least two thirds of the oral sessions and two thirds of the written exercises.
Course certificates
All students successfully completing the course will receive an official certificate.
Any student wishing to officially register their level proficiency in the Portuguese language may sit an exam for obtaining the Portuguese as a Foreign Language Elementary Diploma (DEPLE) at a Portuguese as a Foreign Language Assessment Center (CAPLE).
For more information, please visit http://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt