67038 - Portuguese 2

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have a deeper knowledge of metalanguage and of various aspects of a descriptive-analytical model of Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. They will also be proficient in all communicative skills at least at the B2 level, according to the standards set by the Council of Europe.

Course contents

The course Portuguese and Brazilian Linguistics and Language 2 is structured into two learning components, both of which regular attendance is strongly recommended:
1. 30 hours of LINGUISTICS LECTURES;
2. 90 hours of LANGUAGE CLASSES SESSIONS.

1. LINGUISTICS CONTENT
This module introduces some fundamental concepts of contemporary linguistics and sociolinguistics, with a focus on syntactic constructions that are characteristic of Brazilian Portuguese. The aim is to foster linguistic awareness through the investigation and analysis of grammatical phenomena that shape the Portuguese language system, while critically discussing the relationship between normative-prescriptive rules and the actual use of the language by Brazilian speakers.

2. LANGUAGE CLASSES CONTENT
This component aims to consolidate and enhance students’ communicative skills in European Portuguese. The practical lessons are designed to provide the tools necessary to reach level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Through targeted language exercises, students will develop oral and written production as well as listening and reading comprehension skills. By the end of the course, students will be able to participate in more complex and abstract communicative exchanges, express well-reasoned opinions, understand intermediate-level texts, and produce coherent discourse on a variety of familiar and general topics.

Readings/Bibliography

1. LINGUISTICS
BAGNO, M. Nada na língua é por acaso: por uma pedagogia da variação linguística, Parábola Editorial, São Paulo, 2007.

__________. Não é errado falar assim! Em defesa do português brasileiro, São Paulo, Parábola Editorial, 2009.

CECILIO, L. A. Portoghese o Brasiliano? Appunti per una didattica consapevole, in F. Gatta (a cura di), Parlare insieme. Studi Per Daniela Zorzi, Bononia University Press, Bologna, 2016.

PERINI, M. A. Princípios de linguística descritiva: introdução ao pensamento gramatical, São Paulo, Parábola Editorial, 2006.

Additional materials will be recommended during the course.

2. LANGUAGE CLASSES
TAVARES, A. Português XXI – B1 Livro e Caderno do Aluno. Lisboa: Editora LIDEL, 2018. [https://www.lidel.pt/pt/catalogo/portugues-europeu-lingua-estrangeira/metodos/portugues-xxi-3-pack-livro-do-aluno-caderno-de-exercicios/]

Optional: COIMBRA, I; COIMBRA, O. M. Gramática Ativa 2. Lisboa: Editora LIDEL, 2012. [https://m.lidel.pt/pt/catalogo/portugues-europeu-lingua-estrangeira/gramatica/gramatica-ativa-2/]

Teaching methods

1. LINGUISTICS
The lecture cycle will follow a transmissive-participatory approach and includes research activities guided by the instructor. Active participation from students is expected throughout the course.

2. LANGUAGE PRACTICE CLASSES
Although the course includes moments of explanation aimed at supporting the learning and deepening of European Portuguese syntax, spelling, and phonetics, it is primarily based on practical activities and requires active student involvement. In particular, interactive tasks, such as debates, mock job interviews, and role-playing, are designed to promote direct engagement. Alongside the textbook listed in the bibliography, students will work with audio and video files, various types of texts including newspaper articles, prose excerpts, podcasts, music lyrics, and comics. Students may be asked to give presentations and participate in group work on topics related to the Portuguese-speaking world, with the aim of assessing fluency, overall and detailed comprehension, and linguistic autonomy.

Assessment methods

1. LINGUISTICS
Students’ knowledge of the contents covered in the linguistics module will be assessed through written assignments and oral interviews, preferably conducted in Portuguese, with the instructor responsible for the course. During the oral examination, students will be expected to demonstrate a well-structured understanding of contemporary Portuguese, answering questions related to the course content and their own research activities with clarity, conciseness, and appropriate academic language.

2. LANGUAGE CLASSES
The final exam for Language Classes is divided into two parts: a written exam and an oral exam. The written exam is a prerequisite for the oral exam, and students must obtain a minimum score of 18/30 in the written component in order to take the oral.

Written exam: this component assesses the student’s skills in the following areas: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, grammar exercises, short written production, and translation. The duration of the exam is 3 hours. The use of dictionaries is not permitted.

Oral exam: this consists of a dialogue with the instructor in Portuguese, aimed at evaluating the student's interactive abilities with regard to vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The conversation will focus on everyday topics and subjects discussed in class.

The final grade is calculated as the average of the written and oral exam scores.
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There are no prerequisites between the Linguistics exam and the Language Practice exams, meaning the assessments for the two modules can be taken in different exam sessions and in any preferred order.

For the Language Classes module, however, the prerequisite is strictly enforced and the oral exam can only be taken after passing the written exam.

Each exam session will include at least two sittings for the Linguistics module, one for the written component of Language Classes, and two for the oral component.

The written exam for the Language Practice module may also be taken as two MIDTERM TESTS, one at the end of the first semester and the other at the end of the second semester, allowing for a gradual assessment of students’ progress. The dates for these two partial exams will be announced during the course.

Naturally, only students who pass the first midterm will be allowed to take the second. Students who pass both midterms will have fulfilled the written component of the Language Practice module and will only need to take the oral exam during one of the regular sessions starting from the summer session of the 2025/2026 academic year.

Students who do not take or do not pass the midterms will need to take the written exam according to the standard procedure outlined above.

Teaching tools

Study materials will be made available on the Virtuale platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/).
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Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities: it is recommended that students contact both the University’s support office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and the instructor as early as possible in order to identify together the most effective strategies for attending classes and/or preparing for the exam.

Requests for accommodations must be submitted no later than 15 days before the exam date by sending an email to the instructor and copying disabilita@unibo.it (for students with disabilities) or dsa@unibo.it (for students with SLD).

Office hours

See the website of Camila Cynara Lima De Almeida