Portuguese as a Second Language: online courses em Instituto de Línguas - Ciberescola/IULP

15th April to 28th June 2013

Applications Open!
All courses consist of 45-hour teaching sessions (22 sessions: 2-hour sessions twice a week + a 3-hour session) run by video conference.
Selection: Ciberescola and Universidade Lusófona do Porto are fully responsible for the selection of candidates.
Number of students: minimum of 14 learners to open a course. Students are split into two groups to attend classes.
Tutoring schedules are arranged on individual bases between the teacher and the students.
Technical requirements:

Learners must have:

• Broadband Internet
• Computer with webcam and microphone
• Flash Player installed (no course book is needed)

Students are required to do extra-session work, assigned by the teacher.
Certification: At the end of the course, learners will receive a certificate from Ciberescola and Universidade Lusófona do Porto stating their level of proficiency.
Please note: Students must sit for a placement interview on Skype to ensure correct allocation to a level.
Application Form can be found here

Course A1: Elementary

Language requirements: Candidates should have previously attended Portuguese classes for 1-3 months.
Goals: acquisition of high frequency vocabulary, basic spelling and pronunciation principles as well as basic sentence structures needed to understand simple sentences, instructions, and descriptions used in everyday life.
Course description: At the end of the course, students should be able to make simple sentences and reply to questions on a range of personal and common subjects; they should also be able to read simple and short texts and to understand small pieces of oral input.
Methodology: Teacher-oriented activities (on and offline). Emphasis will be given to the acquisition of high frequency vocabulary and basic grammar rules.
Fee: 300 €

Course A2: Lower Intermediate Level

Language requirements: Candidates should have previously attended Portuguese classes for at least 6 months.
Goals: Communicate appropriately in regular social contexts.
Course description: At the end of the course, students should be able to engage in day-to-day communicative interactions (asking and giving information, introducing themselves and others, expressing opinions, etc.).
Methodology: Teacher-oriented activities (on and offline). Emphasis will be given to the acquisition of frequent syntactic structures, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Fee: 300 €

Course B1: Upper Intermediate Level

Language requirements: Candidates should have previously attended Portuguese classes for at least 12 months.
Goals: Use of Portuguese to communicate in social settings and in culturally appropriate ways.
Course description: This course is designed to help learners develop their oral fluency both in speaking and listening comprehension. Grammar reference and grammar exercises are also a central component of this course. At the same time, students are encouraged to carry on an extensive reading programme. At the end of the course learners are expected to be able to communicate in Portuguese across a range of topics and registers.
Methodology: Repetition and negotiation activities are held in order to speed up vocabulary recall, acquire syntactic structures and improve pronunciation accuracy. Discourse features are also addressed especially in performances planned by learners in advance.
Fee: 300 €

Courses' Terms and Conditions:

1. All students must share their email addresses.
2. All personal information given by the student in the application form will be deleted after the end of the course.
3. All information needed to attend the course will be displayed on Ciberescola da Língua Portuguesa www.ciberescola.com.
4. Class sessions are run in FM http://fm.ea-tel.eu/ . This service is provided via a server used for research purposes. The ownership of any recorded data and files resides with The Open University - UK. None of the sessions/recordings will be made accessible.
5. All students commit to taking 15-20 interactive and writing exercises as homework.
6. The speech training activities held at VOXOP will be recorded and accessible to students of this course edition exclusively.
7. If a student behaves inappropriately we reserve the right to block his access to the course.
8. Minimum attendance rate is 80%.
9. At the end of the course, students take an online test (divided into three parts, similar to the diagnostic test) and a speaking test which consists of a short one-to-one conversation with the teacher.
10. Points 8. and 9. are compulsory in order to obtain the course certificate.
For further information, please send your email to: international@ulp.pt or contact +351 22 207 32 32