Survival Portuguese Language Course

Survival Portuguese Language Course

Beginner to Advanced Curriculum (A1–C1)

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✅ LEVEL 1: SURVIVAL PORTUGUESE (A1–A2)

Goal: Handle daily life, travel basics, and simple work/study exchanges.

✈️ Topics:

• Greetings and introductions
• Ordering food and drinks
• Asking for directions
• Transportation: taxis, buses, trains
• Shopping and markets
• Hotel/reservations
• Numbers, time, and money
• Emergency phrases
• Basic etiquette in Brazil and Portugal

🧠 Grammar:

• Present tense of regular/irregular verbs
• Gender and number (masc/fem, plural)
• Definite/indefinite articles
• Question words (quem, onde, o que...)
• Prepositions of place
• Ser vs Estar
• Verb gostar + de

📚 Activities:

• Roleplays: airport, restaurant, hotel check-in
• Listening practice with street interviews or vlogs
• Flashcards & phrase drills
• Fill-in-the-blank and translation games

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✅ LEVEL 2: FUNCTIONAL PORTUGUESE (A2–B1)

Goal: Deal with more complex travel, work, and study interactions.

🧳 Topics:

• Describing your job and daily routine
• Giving opinions and making comparisons
• Medical visits & pharmacies
• Renting an apartment
• Opening a bank account
• Scheduling appointments
• Talking about hobbies and preferences
• Cultural faux pas to avoid

🧠 Grammar:

• Past tense (pretérito perfeito)
• Reflexive verbs
• Comparatives and superlatives
• Ir + infinitive (futuro próximo)
• Object pronouns (me, te, o/a)
• Saber vs Conhecer
• Simple future (futuro do presente)

📚 Activities:

• Dialogue building for real-life scenarios
• Writing short paragraphs (e.g. “A day in my life”)
• Watching TV clips or commercials in Portuguese
• Group planning activity (planning a trip or apartment search)

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✅ LEVEL 3: INTERMEDIATE PORTUGUESE FOR PROFESSIONAL USE (B1–B2)

Goal: Communicate effectively in work and academic settings.

💼 Topics:

• Talking about your career path
• Writing and responding to emails
• Conducting meetings in Portuguese
• Giving presentations
• Interview prep: talking about strengths and experiences
• Portuguese for university life
• LinkedIn profiles and CVs
• Navigating work culture in Brazil vs Portugal

🧠 Grammar:

• Imperfect vs perfect past
• Subjunctive for polite/formal requests
• Reported speech
• Conditional mood
• Future subjunctive (very common in Portuguese!)
• Por vs Para
• Passive voice

📚 Activities:

• Write a professional email
• Practice job interview Q&A
• Deliver a short presentation
• Analyze a university class schedule
• Roleplay: meeting with a professor, manager, or HR rep

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✅ LEVEL 4: ADVANCED BUSINESS & ACADEMIC PORTUGUESE (B2–C1)

Goal: Master formal and professional communication in various fields.

📈 Topics:

• Industry-specific vocabulary (finance, healthcare, tech, education)
• Writing essays and reports
• Negotiating contracts
• Conflict resolution
• Academic writing and citations
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Business etiquette and small talk
• Media, news & politics

🧠 Grammar:

• Complex subjunctive structures
• Idiomatic expressions
• Indirect object construction
• Nuanced prepositions
• Formal connectors and cohesive devices
• Advanced passive structures

📚 Activities:

• Write a formal report or essay
• Simulate a business negotiation
• Watch and analyze news debates
• Give a persuasive speech or proposal
• Peer review of written work

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✅ LEVEL 5: REAL-WORLD IMMERSION & CULTURE (All levels, ongoing)

Goal: Deepen cultural fluency and comfort with native speech.

🌎 Topics:

• Festivals and holidays (Carnaval, São João, Fado, etc.)
• Portuguese slang and regional accents
• Music, movies, memes & humor
• Social norms and values
• Regional cuisine
• Politics, media, and current events
• Urban vs rural culture

📚 Activities:

• Watch telenovelas or YouTube channels
• Make a travel vlog or daily routine video in Portuguese
• Join online conversation groups
• Try karaoke with Portuguese songs
• Cook a recipe and explain it in Portuguese

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💻 SUGGESTED TOOLS:

• Apps: Duolingo, Babbel, Memrise, LingoPie, italki
• Books: "Ponto de Encontro", "Colloquial Portuguese", "Practice Makes Perfect" series
• YouTube: GlobalGuideMedia, "Portuguese with Leo" (Portugal), "Speaking Brazilian" (Brazil)
• Podcasts: "Café Brasil", "PortuguesePod101", "Fala Gringo!"
• Movies/TV: 3%, Coisa Mais Linda, Cidade de Deus, O Mecanismo