Portuguese

Welcome! Seja Bem-Vindo!

• There are approximately 220 million native speakers of Portuguese in the world, more than German and French combined.
• More than a third of Latin America's population speaks Portuguese and lives in Brazil, a member of the BRICS (an association of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.)
• The US Department of State has declared Portuguese a strategic language.
• It is an important language for the African diaspora, spoken in Mozambique, Cape Verde, Brazil, Angola, Guinea Bissau, East Timor and Sao Tome and Principe. Learning the language will give you access to a wealth of cultural and academic materials about these countries.
• If you know Spanish, you already have a huge vocabulary of cognates and knowledge of the basic grammar, as both languages are very similar.

Proficient Portuguese speakers are in high demand in the following areas:

• Entrepreneurs and business executives for global companies
• Pioneers to develop health, education and national policies
• Political and intelligence government analysts
• International traders and lawyers
• Future diplomats and leaders
• The next generation of Portuguese language teachers and professors
• Engineers designing the future to meet our changing energy needs

Portuguese 101 - 102
These courses introduce learners to the language. Students use Portuguese in simulation of everyday interactions in order to communicate. All topics are connected with the everyday culture of the Portuguese-speaking world.

Portuguese 201 - 202
These classes are designed to further develop students’ fundamental linguistic skills, as well as their knowledge of everyday culture in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Portuguese 301: Conversation, Composition and Culture
This course develops students’ linguistic skills in Portuguese bridging the intermediate and advanced levels, with an emphasis on speaking and writing. Each class focuses on topics of personal and general interest, including current events in the Portuguese-speaking world, with a focus on Brazil.

352: Luso-Afro-Brazilian Cinema
Taught in English, this course focuses on the cinema of the Portuguese-speaking world. It covers topics  such as gender, race, the city, migration, violence, and history in the cultures of Brazil, Portugal, and  Portuguese-speaking Africa. Students watch several films and read scholarly work about the topics addressed or about the history and the societies of the countries depicted in the films. All films will have English subtitles.

Portuguese Resources