Portuguese Level 4

Portuguese Level 4

Course Description

Level 4 Classes: this course is designed for learners who have recently completed Level 3 or have acquired the ability to communicate simply about themselves and past experiences, compare options, and express basic future plans (see Level 3 key communicative and grammatical points for more detail). In this class, you will build confidence to handle a wider range of situations, whether abroad or in conversation with a Portuguese speaker. 

In Level 4, we work at the A2 level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)*. 

Term duration: 10 x weekly 2-hour classes, Thursday evenings, 6:15pm - 8:15pm. 

Key communicative themes may include:  

• Describing yourself, your family, friends, daily activities, and habits
• Describing events and their timing, accepting or declining invitations, and providing justifications
• Describing places, their locations, and giving directions
• Describing facts, actions, and events in the past perfect tense
• Comparing people and places
• Talking about how people, life, and places used to be
• Understanding news articles and current events, and engaging in discussions about famous people. 

Key grammatical points covered include:

• Revision of regular and irregular verbs in the past perfect, movement verbs and associated prepositions, demonstrative pronouns and contractions with prepositions. 
• Preposition por and its contractions: para chegar ao banco, eu vou pela esquerda.
• Verbs that need prepositions: eu voto no melhor candidato porque acredito nele. Verbs with translation divergence in English , eg. saber vs conhecer, poder vs conseguir: eu conheço o Rui e sei que é casado.
• Revision of the differences in the use of the past perfect and imperfect: enquanto eu jantava, o telefone tocou.
• Regular and irregular verbs in the past imperfect: quando eu era criança, eu vivia em Lisboa e brincava muito.
• Comparison adverbs: o carro do Paulo é maior que o do Daniel; a Clara fala espanhol melhor que a Joana.
• Degrees of nouns and adjectives: este é um gato, aquele é um gatinho; o gatinho é lindíssimo. 

Please note that we adapt the pace of the class to the needs and interests of the group, so the listed themes and grammar may be subject to change and are not meant to be exhaustive. 

 Homework may be set between classes, though we do understand that the constraints of everyday life may make it difficult to complete at times. You are under no obligation to complete the homework, but revision of the weekly lessons is strongly encouraged to allow you to make excellent progress and benefit fully from the course. 

Each week you will practise most if not all four communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). You will be encouraged to take an active part in all activities which can include games, pair and group work as well as individual tasks. We aim to establish a friendly, inclusive atmosphere in the classroom so that all students can express themselves freely and increase their confidence. 

 *CEFR levels indicated on our level descriptors are not a guarantee that you can take the associated Portuguese exam for this level. If you would like to take an external Portuguese exam, please speak to your tutor to discuss what they think would be most appropriate.