The B2 - Premium Portuguese for Foreigners course is designed for adults (aged 18 or over) looking to improve and develop their communication skills in European Portuguese. Students should have an elementary understanding of the language, meaning that they are able to communicate in a simple and coherent way, understanding the main issues behind everyday topics and expressing their ideas in a clear manner.
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
- Understand long speeches and interventions and even follow the most complex parts of an argument, as long as it is about a relatively familiar topic;
- Understand to a large extent any television news programme and similar broadcasts;
- Understand to a large extent any movie, as long as standard Portuguese is being spoken.
Reading
- Read news articles and reports about today's issues and understand the authors' position and particular points of view;
- Understand contemporary literary prose texts.
Oral interaction
- Talk fluently and spontaneously enough for a regular interaction with native speakers.
- Take part in an argument about a familiar topic, presenting and defending a point of view.
Oral skills
- Express with clarity and detail about a broad range of subjects related with personal interests;
- Explain a point of view about a given subject, presenting different options with their advantages and disadvantages.
Writing
- Write a text with clarity and detail about a broad range of subjects related with personal interests;
- Write a descriptive text or a report, transmitting information or giving reasons for or against a specific point of view;
- Write letters explaining the meaning of specific experiences or events.
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 five hours byweekly 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; weekly production of writen texts; 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
320 €
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