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Advanced Portuguese Language Skills

Module description

The module is designed for students who have completed the year 2 “Intermediate Portuguese” module (MLP2052), and who wish to achieve proficiency in the written, aural and oral use of the Portuguese language. You will advance your Portuguese language skills through translation from and into the target language, as well as through working with different genres and styles of writing. Oral classes will improve your language skills as well as expand the range of your cultural knowledge of the Portuguese speaking world. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to:

• Consolidate and develop language skills acquired in MLP2052
• Build on linguistic competence developed during the Year Abroad
• Promote confidence in communiting in Portuguese through a range of written, oral, comprehension and translation exercises, covering different registers and areas of vocabulary
• Enhance and develop skills in the translation of a variety of texts from and into the target language
• Revise grammatical structures and expand the range of expression, including idiomatic usage in the target language
• Develop oral and aural skills to an advanced level
• Boost grammatical accuracy and individual expression and confidence
• Achieve levels C1/C2 (Proficient User) within the Common European Framework of References for Languages

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Tackle complex translation passages into and out of the target language, based on a wide range of topics and written in a variety of styles
• 2. Discuss complex topics and issues in an appropriate register, using a broad range of vocabulary and idiom
• 3. Give a structured oral presentation in the target language, addressed to a small group of peer listeners, and engage in debate on the issues raised in the presentation
• 4. Apply a broad range of basic and complex grammatical features in the target language to a range of linguistic exercises
• 5. Develop the necessary skills to write texts in different styles: journalistic, reviews, academic, argumentative, blog, as well as to write a summary of a text.
• 6. Demonstrate understanding of different varieties of spoken Portuguese from a range of sources, including audio/video recordings
• 7. Develop an extensive knowledge and understanding of the cultures of the language of study

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Engage critically with Portugese linguistic media, both printed and electronic (including television and radio) as a resource for independent learning
• 9. Use bilingual and monolingual dictionaries as well as parallel digital corpora to research conventions of usage, find synonyms and antonyms, and explore nuances of meaning
• 10. Understand and use in class discussion a broad range of linguistic terminology, using it to conceptualise mistakes in the target language and identify strategies for improving linguistic accuracy

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 11. Communicate information and arguments of significant complexity in the target language
• 12. Advance linguistic competence individually and independently, with limited guidance

Syllabus plan

Translation skills from Portuguese into English in term 1 and from English into Portuguese in term 2;

Development of different styles of writing in Portuguese including: journalistic, reviews, academic, argumentative, blog and summaries.

Weekly small discussion groups based on specific topics on past and contemporary social, political and cultural aspects of the Portuguese-speaking world. 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

You will only be required to retake any failed assessments. Marks for any passed assessments will be carried forward. If you have failed any assessments but managed to pass the module overall, you will not be allowed to retake the failed assessments.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Module booklets available on ELE at the beginning of the year for: translation from and into Portuguese

Also recommended:

• Collins, 2006. Portuguese-English/ Inglês-Português Dictionary. Harper Collins
• Ganho, A. and McGovern, T. 2004. Using Portuguese. A Guide to Contemporary Usage.   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Henriques, T. S. and Frederico de Freitas. 2013. Qual é a Dúvida? Lisboa: Edições Lidel.
• Hutchinson, A. and Lloyd. J.1996. Portuguese: An Essential Grammar . London: Routledge
• Muñoz-Basols, J., Sinusía, Y., David, M. and Donovan, C. 2020. Manual Prático de Escrita em Português. Oxford: Routledge.
• Nitti, J.J. & Ferreira, M.J. 1995. 501 Portuguese Verbs: Fully Conjugated in all the Tenses . New
• York: Barron's Educational Series
• Prontuário da Língua Portuguesa. 2011. Porto: Porto Editor
• Whitlam, J. 2011.  Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar. A Practical Guide. Oxford: Routledge

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=7059
• Monolingual dictionary: http://www.priberam.pt/DLPO/default.aspx
• Major newspapers from Portuguese-speaking countries (i.e., Público, Diário de Notícias, Folha de São Paulo)
• Portuguese corpora: www.linguateca.pt

Key words search

Portuguese language, advanced level, translation (bi-directional), written, oral, communication skills