Primary emphasis is divided between conversation and composition
skills. The two phases of the course are correlated to include
the skills of reading and listening comprehension. Given in
Portuguese. Not open to native speakers.
Athena Title
Port Convers and Composit
Prerequisite
PORT 2002 or PORT 2120 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to narrate stories, community events, academic experiences, and career goals in Portuguese using appropriate verb tenses and temporal markers. Through oral and written activities, students will describe current events and cultural topics related to the Portuguese-speaking world, with a particular focus on Brazil.
Students will be able to produce coherent paragraph-length narrations and descriptions in Portuguese. Through guided writing and speaking tasks, students will organize ideas logically, use transition words effectively, and demonstrate control of grammatical structures.
Students will be able to comprehend and produce main ideas and supporting details in increasingly complex oral and written texts. By engaging with authentic materials, such as news articles, poems, videos, and Brazilian music, students will strengthen their ability to identify key information written and oral expression, respond appropriately in Portuguese.
Students will be able to navigate interpersonal communication in Portuguese with respect and cultural awareness. Through partner and group activities, students will demonstrate sensitivity to social norms and practices in Portuguese-speaking contexts.
Students will be able to reflect on how social identities and roles influence one’s worldview and interactions. Through discussions, written reflections, and comparisons with their own experiences, students will analyze how cultural perspectives shape communication.
Students will be able to demonstrate awareness, appreciation, and knowledge of cultures and communities across the Portuguese-speaking world. Through presentations, readings, and class discussions, students will explore cultural practices, values, and traditions beyond their own.
Topical Outline
Specific oral and written skills development will encompass the parameters for language learners’ performance consistent with ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) guidelines for the Advanced Level:
1. Functions: create with language, narrate and describe, make inferences, and maintain a conversation.
2. Context and content: personal topics, general interest, work-related, current events, and cultural themes.
3. Text type: development of ability to construct narrative, descriptive, and argumentative texts.
Oral communication: development of oral skill through discussion, conversation and debate; development of fluency and ease of expression; development of aural comprehension through listening to videos and audio recordings in Portuguese.
Written communication: development of sentence structure, vocabulary, and paragraphs; use of transition words and phrases; development of analytical ability through the construction of coherent arguments; development of reading comprehension through the study of cultural materials (online, televised and print media; literary texts as well as music, film, and other arts).
Institutional Competencies
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
