The Book Fair – Feira do Livro 23/05/2008

You are a bit bored, the weather isn’t quite what you’d expect from a town in the south,… well that’s normal, as it has been a tradition to have rainy weather when the Book-fair opens to the public.

So instead of hanging around in Cafés (which you should anyway…), just go to Palácio de Cristal and visit the Fair. It´s free and all major Publishing Houses are there presenting their books. This year’s writer is, Germano Silva a writer of Porto with deep knowledge of this city; who knows, you might get into a nice chat with him!

Until the 10th of June there will be all sort of Events and you can buy cheaper Books ( discount of about 10 to 50% – if they are the book of the day). Open every day from 15:30 to 23:30.

Learn Portuguese 21/04/2008

 Would you like to learn Portuguese?

There are several possibilities to learn Portuguese in town, it pretty much depends on how much you want to spend, how much time do you have and when are there available courses.

Course levels

To go from Absolute beginner (those who know absolutely nothing – and saying bom dia, boa tarde is something, right?) to proficient in Portuguese, you’ll need to start at Level A1 and make all the way to Level C2 (according to the “Common European Framework of Reference for Languages):

Level A1 – You aim at communicating in an extremely simple manner (for example: introduce yourself, name things you own), if your interlocutor speaks slowly, clearly and in a simple way.

Level A2 – You want to communicate in situations involving simple tasks and/or routines, where it is enough to exchange simple and direct information. You want to describe in a simple manner personal information, your surroundings.

Level B1 – You intend to communicate in a simple manner producing small speeches, describing personal experiences or explaining reasons and justifications

Level B2 – You want to communicate with some spontaneity and promptness with native speakers.

Level C1 – You want to communicate in a flexible and efficient way, in any situation.

Level C2 – You intend to speak, write, read and listen fluently, distinguishing the subtleties of meaning of the learnt language.

Course frequency

Each level has been conceived for a period of 60 hours to 80 hours. Then according to your available time you can attend: 

Regular course: Held generally twice a week, this type of courses take about a semester to achieve a level.

Intensive course: Held in a month occupying either mornings or afternoons, from Monday to Friday. Or whole days (generally no more than 6 hours).

Course attendance

Finally, you’ll have to choose whether you prefer groups or individual training: group (6-16 learners); small groups (2-6 learners) or individual training.

Here you have some possibilities:

University

Faculty of Arts, Porto

Private Schools teaching Portuguese with Web sites:

City School      InLingua     International House      Encounter English      Centro Europeu de Línguas      Centro de Línguas de Aldoar