Portuguese Language Program
WELCOME TO THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE PROGRAM AT BC!
The Department of Romance Language and Literatures offers a year-long introductory sequence in Elementary Portuguese. The two-semester sequence offers students from all disciplines an opportunity to learn the basis of the Portuguese language and get in touch with the rich and vibrant cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world. Students are immersed in the language and its cultural traditions from the first day of class, learning essential reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in context.
Thanks to an agreement between Boston College and the Camões Institute of Cooperation and Language, a lectureship in Portuguese Language was established at the university in 2011. Additionally, the Office of International Programs offers semester- and year-long study abroad programs at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Jainerio (PUC-Rio).
Please note: Currently the RLL department only offers elementary Portuguese (1, Fall; 2, Spring). Elementary Portuguese is not sufficient for satisfying the language proficiency requirement for graduation.
ELEMENTARY PORTUGUESE
Elementary Portuguese focuses on building students’ communication skills. From the first day of class, students will interact in Portuguese with the instructor and their classmates. By the end of the second semester, students should be able to successfully manage a significant number of spoken and written communicative tasks in different verb tenses in the target language.
Upon successful completion of the Elementary sequence (I and II, RLRL102401 and RLRL102301), students should be able to:
- speak in Portuguese to describe, narrate stories, and carry on spontaneous conversations about topics such as family, professions, food, clothing, health, likes and dislikes and the past.
- comprehend the target language well enough to understand the main ideas and additional details in short conversations referring to the topics mentioned above and other situations in different verb tenses.
- read and understand texts (some prepared specifically for students and some primary sources) dealing with a variety of cultural products and practices.
- write basic compositions about a variety of themes in simple but complete sentences and compose short paragraphs, displaying good control of Portuguese grammar and sentence structure.
- recognize, appreciate and compare similarities and differences between their own culture and Portuguese-speaking cultures.