Portuguese Group Classes

3 basic levels plus Portuguese for Travelers

Classes meet once per week for 2.5 hours

Small class size (max. 9 students)

Experienced, native-speaking teachers

Four 10-week terms per year

Affordable tuition

Conveniently located at Dupont Circle

The Portuguese Language Program at ILI consists of four 10-week terms throughout the year. We are offering three Basic levels. In addition, we are also offering now Portuguese for Travelers. Classes meet at the Institute once a week in the evening or on Saturday mornings. Our teachers are all native-speaking and experienced. The Portuguese Language Program integrates speaking, listening, reading and writing. We maintain small class sizes to enable adequate time for conversation in every class. To find your level, please refer to the level description or use our self-evaluation guide. If you have further questions, please call Francisco Todd, ILI's Foreign Language Coordinator, at 202-686-5610 ext. 105.

Level Description

Basic 1: The emphasis of this beginner class is on pronunciation, vocabulary building, basic grammar and basic conversation. This course is for those students with little or no ability in the language. Introduction to basic listening, reading, speaking and writing skills will be addressed throughout the course. Previous Portuguese not required. Basic 1A and C are identical in content.

Objective:	To introduce the Portuguese language to students who never took Portuguese at school or had Portuguese in their lives at all. The students in this level will experience Portuguese for the first time and will enjoy learning word by word in a dynamic way.
Learning Outcome:	At the end of this course, the average student will be able to hold basic social/survival conversations using the most common words and phrases used in routine daily life. The students will be able to identify words and expressions of Portuguese. They will be able to say or express basic ideas, sentences and desires in simple present tense. They will learn enough vocabulary to continue with Portuguese Basic 2.
Topics:	Grammatical points covered in class will include the present of regular and irregular verbs; pronouns; articles; possessives; interrogatives; exposure to the phonetics of the language; expressions of time and quantity; family; friends; dining out; seasons; introductions; parts of the body; telling time; prepositions; cardinal numbers; months of the year.
Textbook:	"Aquarela" including audio CD, by Tarcicio Buriti $68
Lessons:	Phonetics, introduction, and lessons 1- 3

Basic 1A: Mondays 6:15 - 8:45 pm
Basic 1C: Saturdays 10 am - 12:30 pm

Basic 2: This course is the continuation of the Basic 1 level and for students who have taken formal instruction a while ago, or have previous informal exposure to the language. Building of the basic foundation provided in the introductory level, students will learn to introduce themselves and conduct simple conversations on a range of everyday subjects. Listening, reading, speaking and writing skills will be addressed throughout the course.

Objective:	To continue the introduction of the Portuguese language to students who took Portuguese Basic 1 or students who took some introductory Portuguese previously. The students in this level will learn to express their ideas spoken and orally in simple present tense of the most common regular and irregular verbs. The basic past tense will be introduced.
Learning Outcome:	After completing this level, students will be able to engage in conversation with greater ease while increasing their use of more complex grammar such as the past and future tenses with focuses on, imperative and indicative forms. They will be able to say or express their ideas, sentences and desires easily at a basic beginner’s level and will also continue to build on vocabulary and are able to read and write longer texts. They will learn enough vocabulary to continue with Portuguese Basic 3.
Topics:	Students will be introduced to the basic future and past verb tenses and will learn how to conjugate the most common action verbs. Grammatical topics will include demonstrative pronouns; possessive pronouns; irregular verbs; prepositions; contractions; adverbs; ordinal numbers; present continuous tense; the restaurant; idiomatic expressions; colors.
Textbook:	"Aquarela" including audio CD, by Tarcicio Buriti $68
Lessons:	4-6

Basic 2: Tuesdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Basic 3: This level continues to build up necessary grammar skills that will enable students to understand, read, write and translate sentences and paragraphs. It continues to build on Basic 2 by adding vocabulary and more complex sentences. This course is well-suited for students that have completed at least one semester of college-level Portuguese or the equivalent in a language institute. Students will learn to correctly use present, past and future tenses, along with more complex vocabulary and grammar. Listening, reading, speaking and writing skills will continue to be addressed throughout the course.

Objective:	Students will continue with the Portuguese basic program with more difficult and much deeper structure for building sentences. To make students use Portuguese structures taught in the previous level by continuing to build and use more difficult and much deeper sentence structures. The students in this level will express their ideas by using a solid vocabulary foundation of adjectives and adverbs.
Learning Outcome:	Building on the previous Basic levels, students at this level will rapidly expand their vocabulary and use expressions more precisely used in a wider range of situations. The students will be able to have a basic conversation based on daily activities. They will be able to say or express their ideas with a full command of adjectives and adverbs. The will be able to understand and be understood in three major tenses, present, past, and future. Students are now ready for the intermediate level courses.
Topics:	The compound forms of all the regular and irregular verbs introduced so far, are introduced and practiced. Other grammatical topics will include the imperative mood; more idiomatic expressions; genders; comparatives and superlatives; conditional and imperfect verb tense; geography; immigration; history.
Textbook:	"Aquarela" including audio CD, by Tarcicio Buriti $68
Lessons:	7-10

Basic 3: Wednesdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Additional levels are currently being developed and will be offered by the next group term.

Portuguese for Travelers: This course is designed with the social traveler in mind. Using a phrase book/travelers guide the student will practice basic phrases for everyday use while traveling, through in-classroom role-plays, enabling them to communicate instantly on a host of topics: restaurants, shopping, hotel check-ins, health and medical situations, essential services, boat, plane and train travel, much more. Vacation travelers will find everything they need for a smooth, successful trip with the combination of the use of the phrase book/travelers guide and real-life classroom instruction. Tuition: $150.

Textbook: Phrase Book, cost included in the tuition.

Length of program: Saturdays, 12:30-2:30 pm; 5 weeks.

Program Details

2008 Schedule:

Winter Term	Jan. 14 - Mar. 22, 2008	Deadline: Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Spring Term	Apr. 7 - June 14, 2008	Deadline: Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Summer Term	Jul. 7 - Sept. 13, 2008	Deadline: Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Fall Term	Sept. 29 - Dec. 6, 2008	Deadline: Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Tuition: $320 for one level, $150 for the Traveler Class. Please click here to apply on-line.

Duration: Classes meet once weekly in the evening or on Saturday mornings for 10 weeks (5 weeks for the Traveler Class). Each session is 2.5 hours.

Refunds: No refunds are issued once classes have started.

Textbooks: May be purchased at the time of registration or at the Institute before or on the first day of class.

Inclement Weather: Classes are cancelled in accordance with federal government closings (not school closings!) due to inclement weather. Please check public announcements on radio, TV and the Web; or call ILI at (202) 362-2505.

Cancellation/Substitution: The International Language Institute reserves the right to cancel any class if deemed necessary. Prior to commencement of class, students will be given a full refund. In the event of cancellation after the commencement of class, the pro-rata portion of the unexpended tuition will be refunded within $5. The pro-rated amount of refundable monies will be determined by the ratio of classes completed to the total number of classes in the scheduled program. The International Language Institute reserves the right to assign substitute instructors whenever necessary.

Location: See address below.

Questions? Please call Francisco Todd, Foreign Language Coordinator of ILI, at 202-686-5610 extension 105.