We are taking the Edpropt class as an introduction to Portuguese.
We need the certificate, so we would need to take classes to get to the point of taking the CIPLE exam anyway, so this works for now.
We know we will want much more instruction to become fluent. We will explore more comprehensive instruction later. We just want the stress of the exam/certification over with.
I realized another issue. Being in California the time difference for a lot of these zoom classes absolutely sucks.
Like my kids who are 12 and 14ā¦ pretty much only weekend mid day is going to work due to school and other conflicts.
Anyone else in PST time zone and what did you do?
Do your think your kids will be of the age where they need to have the language for citizenship, is that the issue?
Personally, Iām studying and will sit the A2 exam. The times and intensity of the courses with no exam donāt work for me at all.
12 and 14 and we just started. So they will definitely be 18 or older by the time citizenship comes up.
My youngest is 9 and he can be brought in under one of us so we will let him learn at a lower pace.
Have you found a way to prep yourself to the exam that is shorter than the 150 hours of the non-exam course?
I started out on a private tutor path but found it was too expensive (on a hourly rate) with no guarantee that I would be ready for the exam. Besides I have my ādependantsā with a very different affinity to taking exams 
Books, practiceportuguese.com, later podcasts, on the latter stages - tutor to prepare specifically for exam
Iām doing a course in Hong Kong that is run by one of the universities. Itās 3 hours one evening per week, 40 classes over the year. Only gets us to level A1. However Iām much happier with the pace of learning as I can fit it around work and family life. Iām not prepared to sacrifice time with my children for this, theyāll only be 6 and 3 once! Cost wise the course is about US$1,200, however if I pass the course I can claim 80% of that back from the HK government, and the other 20% I can offset against my tax bill.
In addition Iām doing Pimsleur in the car driving to work, for extra listening and speaking practice.
To get to level A2 I will probably continue with private lessons after this course. Probably wonāt do the next level of the in person course Iām doing, as it would mean another full year of study and I want to pass the A2 exam with plenty of time to spare before I make my citizenship application. Iām hoping that getting to A1 slowly will give me a good basis on which to build!
I donāt envy you needing to help your children learn! Thankfully mine are young enough that they wonāt need to.
we just started a 150-hour A1/A2 private session, online course with LUSA (in Lisbon). It is not cheap (ā¬6k) for two of us, however, it is only 2 of us and it is āour scheduleā, we can do as many 2-hour sessions a week as our schedules permit. The instructor is very good. It will provide the required certificate upon completion and our attorney has indicated that this will suffice for the language requirement (I guess the real test is whether AIMA thinks so).
Please keep us posted on how the class goes. We might need that resource, depending on how my family responds to the PLA Intensive course.
Can you share a link to the class?
How flexible is that? If the most convenient time for you in the USA is e.g. 4am in Portugal, would they accommodate that?
we scheduled our sessions for 0900-1100cst/15h-17hLisbon time.
Ask to work with Bianca on this, she was very helpful.
Unfortunately thatās dropping kids at school and starting work hours for meā¦
Do they have any options for one hour a day? Maybe if I get up early I could squeeze in one hour of Portuguese before the kids are awake 
Are you sure that you donāt need to sit the A2 exam after doing this course? Their website doesnāt mention that the course gives you an exemption from the exam, but it does mention preparing you for and helping enroll you in the exam?
I have been trying to register with Edpro through their application form on their website, however no one ever gets back. Did anyone experience something similar? Any suggestion on how I can get their attention? Many thanks!
Yes, it does happen, weāve have faced it too. Call them. Phone calls are usually picked up during office hours.
Thanks, I will try to send them WhatsApp message too on the numbers they have indicated on their website.
Apologies if this has been covered before. But what is the verdict on CipleMaster ? The 38 week PLA online course seems the most suitable option for me as I cannot devote more than a few hours every week. It is crazy expensive, and they seem to be very certain that it provides an exemption from the exam and have sent me some legal opinions on the same.
Has anyone else taken the plunge with them ?
As I reported in this thread a couple of weeks ago, I didnāt get any response from EdPro for well over a month after the initial automated email acknowledgement.
When they did contact me it was by Whatsapp and not email so do ensure that your Whatsapp phone number is accurate and be patient if you did get the automated email acknowledgement. Being patient is good practice for life in Portugal.
We got an email acknowledgment of the application, then nothing for weeks until nearer to course start time. Then a request for payment and a receipt of payment, then WhatsApp and email info when the class is 4 days from starting.