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Portuguese Classes

Our European Portuguese language classes (lessons) are structured to meet the learning expectations of students who broadly can be divided into 2 distinct groups:

  • Those who live in Portugal (full-time or part-time) and want Portuguese lessons to help integrate fully into the community
  • Business people who normally need specialised courses relating to their professions

Except in the case of beginners, all students are interviewed to assesss their levels. Students can choose to have private lessons or study in a group (4-8 students).  Our most popular group class is the 30-lesson one for beginners.  It is really enjoyable and the aim is to have students speaking Portuguese as quickly as possible.

Our students know they receive a friendly, efficient, and professional service. We are recognized by the Portuguese Ministry of Education. Since being established 40 years ago, we have managed to move with the times yet retain the personal approach that our students appreciate. We are small enough to give our students a more individual service, but also able to reach and teach students online world-wide.

Online Lessons
Conversation Classes
Private Lessons

Why learn Portuguese with us?

Our European Portuguese lessons aim to improve your proficiency in all or specific elements of language learning:

  • Listening and reading
  • Writing
  • Spoken interaction.

All the above are skills you need to be proficient at a language – see Common European Reference for Language Learning (CEFR). In general, our group courses will focus on all these aspects of language learning, whereas our conversational classes and private Portuguese lessons provide the opportunity to focus on specific areas to help you learn the Portuguese language.

How our Portuguese Courses are structured

Our Portuguese level A1 courses are divided into three separate 30-lesson classes:

  • For Beginners, the first course to do is our A1.1 class.
  • Once you have completed that, you will be ready to move on to our next course which is A1.2 (Pre-intermediate).
  • From there, you can continue onto the last A1 level course, A1.3 (Intermediate)

For these three courses we use a class book, Português XXI, book 1, published by Lidel. This is divided into 12 units. In course A1.1 you will cover units 1-3, In course A1.2, you move on to units 4-6 and in the final (A1.3) course you will cover units 7-12 (units 11 & 12 are relatively short). The class book offers a structure that builds on your developing language skills and gives you a reference source when studying at home. However, the teachers use a wide range of other materials, where appropriate, to supplement the materials in the book.

Many of our students find that, by the time they have completed the three A1 courses, they have sufficient command of the Portuguese language to take the CIPLE exam. For students wishing to do this exam, some additional lessons for exam preparation are recommended. This is usually done through private lessons.

For students who are keen to build on their acquired skills and continue with their Portuguese, we offer A2 level classes. A2 level courses are divided into two parts: These are A2.1 and A2.2. For A2 level, we use the course book Português XXI, book 2.

For our really keen students, it’s possible to move on to B1 level. B1 level courses are divided into two parts: These are B1.1 and B1.2. The course book we use is Português XXI, book 3. This course is taken by students who usually need Portuguese for their work or studies.

Beginners (A1.1)

Our beginners course (30 lessons) has proved to be extremely popular. It gives students a really good grounding in Portuguese. Our aim is to have students speaking Portuguese as quickly as possible.

Pre-Intermediate (A1.2)

This course (30 lessons) is ideal for students who have already taken our beginners course or who have a basic knowledge of Portuguese.

Intermediate (A1.3)

This course (30 lessons) is ideal for students who have already taken our pre-intermediate course or who have a good basic knowledge of Portuguese. The teachers are very happy to chat to anyone who is not sure about their level.

Advanced (A2.1 and A2.2)

This course (30 lessons) is for students who have completed Português XXI, book 1 and we move onto book 2 (published by Lidel), at the A2 level. Usually, the advanced course is split into two courses to ensure we cover all the material in book 2.

Advanced (B1.1 and B1.2)

B1 level courses (30 lessons) are divided into two parts: These are B1.1 and B1.2. The course book we use is Português XXI, book 3, published by Lidel. This course is usually taken up by students who usually need Portuguese for their work or studies.

Portuguese Course Options

Portuguese Group Lessons

We have group courses at all levels, from complete beginners to advanced.  All courses are for 30 lessons, spread over 5 or 7 weeks.  For beginners we sometimes have intensive 2-week courses.  A focus in all our group courses is on conversation and having students speak Portuguese as quickly as possible. Except in the case of beginners, all students who would like to join a group are interviewed to assess their levels.  The interview is free and there is no obligation to enrol on a course. 

Group courses are small (4–8 students) which means the teacher can easily focus on the requirements of each student.

Upcoming Group Courses

Portuguese Conversation Classes

By their very nature, our Portuguese conversation online classes tend to have a more flexible structure to them. Your tutor can suggest topics for discussion, or you may volunteer a focus to the discussions that take place. So, you can do some research on current events and look up vocabulary that might be useful when speaking. In this way, you can steer some of the learning to cover things of interest and that are useful, whilst at the same time getting the guidance from the tutor. By taking a relaxed and informal approach, students often learn far more than they had anticipated.

Upcoming Conversation Classes

Portuguese Private Lessons

We have really effective private lessons at all levels in Portuguese. These lessons are ideal for a number of reasons, including:

  • A group course timetable is not convenient
  • If you need to study specific material
  • Preparation for the A2 CIPLE exam
  • Focus upon specific areas of learning Portuguese. For example. helping with listening skills
  • You simply prefer to learn at your own pace

The length and structure of the courses depend on the students’ requirements. It’s important that the teachers have as much information about why the students are studying a language so that lessons can be personalized to each student.

The cost of 1 lesson is for 1 or 2 students studying together.  This is perfect for friends, family members or work colleagues.

Private Portuguese Lessons

Portuguese Online Lessons

Currently all our Portuguese group courses and conversation classes are online using Zoom.

Upcoming Online Portuguese Lessons

Classroom Based Lessons

Although all our group lessons and conversation classes are currently online, private lessons can be either face to face or online, the choice is yours. All face to face lessons take place at the language school.

Private Portuguese Lessons

Portuguese Language Certification

For non-EU nationals, in order to acquire Portuguese nationality, there is a language proficiency requirement. Currently, you will need proof that you are proficient in Portuguese at the A2 level or higher. Therefore, we support and tutor students wishing to prepare for the official Portuguese as a foreign language exams that are provided by Centro de Avaliação de Português Língua Estrangeira (CAPLE). These follow the CEFR framework and the most frequently achieved certifications (worldwide) that CAPLE issue are listed below.

At present, we don’t have group courses that prepare you for the Portuguese foreign language exams. Instead, we offer private Portuguese lesson tuition. This enables us to maximise the tuition support given to you and allows us to fit in with your timetable. Please see our private lessons section for more details.

CIPLE (A2)

The Certificado Inicial de Português Língua Estrangeira (CIPLE) corresponds to the minimum level of language proficiency needed to apply for Portuguese citizenship.

DEPLE (B1)

The Diploma Elementar de Português Língua Estrangeira (DEPLE) certifies that an individual can interact in everyday situations, at work and study where the context and predictability of language is known.

DIPLE (B2)

The Diploma Intermédio de Português Língua Estrangeira (DIPLE) certifies that an individual has an understanding of both oral and written Portuguese that is not limited to understanding only factual information.

Online Portuguese Classes

  • Group based lessons
  • Intensive Courses
  • Part-time Courses
  • Online via Zoom
  • 4-8 People
Upcoming Courses

Portuguese Conversation Classes

  • Online
  • Group based
  • Spoken interaction focus
  • Similar level students
Upcoming Courses

Private Lessons

  • Individual Based or 2 students studying together
  • Online or in our classroom
  • Greater flexibility than group courses
  • Set your own pace
  • Targeted learning opportunities eg CIPLE A2 exam preparation
Find out more