Around two hundred million people speak Portuguese. And you? Are you interested in learning Portuguese and surfing the virtual Portuguese world? Then this the the course for you. Not only will you be able to begin communicating in Portuguese, but you will also gain an insight into the cultural aspects of Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries. You will be exposed to introductory different forms of written and spoken Portuguese and we will take virtual tours of Portuguese cities and interesting regions of Portuguese-speaking countries. When you want to chat with your cyber friends you can meet them informally at our virtual café (as many Portuguese speakers do at sidewalk cafés).
The primary goal of this course is to engage you in the real world challenge of getting acquainted with the Portuguese language and culture and, therefore, to develop the abilities to communicate and to think in Portuguese. Our practice with the Portuguese language will mainly involve skills of listening and speaking, but also reading and writing. Introductory knowledge of the Portuguese people, language and culture will certainly be a focal point in this course. We will also explore Portuguese language and cultural influence throughout the world, while instilling attitudes such as those of curiosity and respect for the convictions of others.
So… what will we be doing over the next 33 weeks? Each week of this course is organized around a major theme, which is reflected in the week's title. You will also find some activities that are repeated throughout the course. You will write a weekly journal, participate in weekly discussions, listen to online music, complete online grammar activities and engage in some group and individual projects. You will interact with your classmates through group projects like debates, webquests, and student led discussions.
Learning Objectives:
Participants in this course will be able to:
• Ask and answer simple questions;
• Make and respond to requests;
• Initiate simple conversations;
• Perform dialogues;
• Acquire and exchange information, knowledge, opinions, and ideas about people, activities and events;
• Read authentic and adapted materials;
• Communicate in writing at a basic level (simple paragraphs, notes, postcards or e-mails);
• Show understanding of basic grammatical concepts of the language.
• Handle basic grammatical structures.
• Apply basic vocabulary in many areas of experience.
• Gain some understanding of Portuguese-speaking societies in the above areas of experience.
• Acquire knowledge and demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of Portuguese-speaking cultures;
• Identify and describe characteristics of language through comparison of the target language with their own;
• Use technology as a learning tool.
• Demonstrate respect for others ideas and culture.
• Use technology as a learning tool.
