Iâve been listening to the Practice Portuguese Shorties podcast as immersion practice (e.g. while walking, driving, in the background while doing other tasksâŠ) and I think it does a good job of training my ear to the sounds of European Portuguese. It helps that the pronunciation and recording is very clear. Sometimes I also listen to Portugueses no Mundo and yes itâs noisier and harder to understand, but still I definitely understand more over time even though my main listening has been the Practice Portuguese Shorties.
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Does the test require you to actually write answers/essays on paper, do to you enter them into a computer? For me physical writing has become almost unnatural after decades at the screen. Should I resurrect the old art of cursive?
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@PCERoman there is an example exam here: CIPLE - Centro de Avaliação de PortuguĂȘs LĂngua Estrangeira
If you look at the writing part: Compreensão da Leitura e Produção e Interação Escritas
Itâs all multiple choice except the last page which has one question where you need to write 25-35 words, and another 60-80 words.
Hardly an âessay!â
@calpoidog âO seu texto deve ter uma extensĂŁo de cerca de 60-80 palavrasâ are you meant to also count the words in the prompt they give you? Iâm not sure if âextensĂŁoâ means total length or literally âextensionâ.
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Thank you for your reply - I have taken the practice test and passed it, though barely, and need to improve.
The issue is that nobody, myself including, can read my handwriting. I am fine on the keyboard, but not too good on paper anymore.
Well, no worries - I will manage somehow. 
Yes my course includes writing. It also includes an oral element that I understand is similar to the A2 exam - being given a photo of something, 5 mins to prepare, then having to speak about it. I donât find this easy as in my native language Iâm not an extrovert or chatty. Our tutor has said that you can say pretty much say anything here as long as itâs relevant - let your imagination run wild, go off on a tangent. Itâs about showing what you know. Iâm dreading this part, and will definitely be getting a tutor to help me prepare for it between June and November.
There a couple of people in my class whoâve already taken and passed the A2 exam (yes I know itâs odd theyâre re-taking A1 - they just like studying Portuguese and this tutor!), and they said that the listening is extremely hard - many fail or just scrape through that element. Therefore you need to aim to score highly on the oral, writing and comprehension sections.
The trick is erasable âpenâ like this one:
Basically a pencil that looks like a pen. I find them helpful when there is plenty of time per word.
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Wow ok, Iâve listened to Portugueses no Mundo quite a bit. Iâd say thatâs a pretty advanced level for A2 but depends on what they were asking. Some of the speakers talk about complex things but if the questions are things like dates or hobbies (eg âwhen did JoĂŁo move to the USâ) it shouldnât be too hard. Did you think the questions were appropriate for the level?
I wouldnât rely on PP entirely. I donât think any one of the methods I listed would get you through on its own, but they work together well. There is a book you can get from CAPLE with two sample tests in it and an outline of whatâs expected. None of this is very well explained Iâm afraid but this is about as close as you will get to official info. I managed to pick this up at a bookshop in my city but Iâm sure you could order online.
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Great tip. Thanks!
Thanks. Yes the multi-pronged approach is my strategy.
Iâve bought this book. Donât think itâs official, but I imagine it gives a pretty good idea of the required standard:
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Everyone says the listening is extremely hard. Iâve been told you should be prepared to fail it, meaning you need to score above the pass mark in other areas.
That looks very useful. If you want to practice listening, there are books with access to online recordings from Lidl in that same series, called Compreensão Oral em Açao A1/A2. I have that one and the B1/B2.
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There are parts which are multiple choice (read and answer questions) and there is a writing portion where you need to write an email or a short letter on a specified topic. Yes, in your handwriting. I get itâŠmine is terrible.
Same. My test is next week and Iâm actually spending time each day this week relearning how to write by hand in a legible manner.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I just checked out these pens in a store and they carry a warning on the box to not use in exams or on legal documents due to the erasability of the ink. Apparently the ink can just rub off quite easily and is sensitive to temperate changes.
I think using fancy pens is overthinking. I assume you are allowed scratch paper. Write on that in pencil, then copy to the official exam paper in ink.
These are not real pens. They are erasable (using the special eraser at the top) because the âinkâ is heat sensitive. So obviously do NOT use these for any legal documentsâI actually never use it to fill in my name / ID number on exam answer sheets, eitherâto avoid tampering.
Moreover, I heard that a whole page of writing could disappear under extremely high/low temperature (I forgot which). There are diabolical parents making TikTok videos of their heartbroken children when their homework literally disappeared on paper. The good news is when the ambient temperature is back to normal, the ink reappears. If this gives you anxiety, just use a real pen instead.
Another word of caution: these are NOT real pencils either. So donât use them to fill in the boxes/circles for multiple choice questions. The card reading machines wonât be able to read it.
I personally used these fake pens when I wrote French exam essays back in the days, because:
(1) I hoped to gain a little advantage (a point or two maybe) from not crossing too many words out. Probably just a myth anyway.
(2) there was zero chance of tampering. Who would want to tamper with my foreign language exam?
(3) if all the exam papers got hot on the plane to Paris, by the time a grader gets to them, they would be back to normal temperature already.
Use a real pen if you are worried.
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I canât promise that this is correct European Portuguese (Iâm not at that level), but a new little tool/game from Google Labs: Little Language Lessons
As of today, âTiny Lessonâ and âWord Camâ have PT Portuguese options, but âSlang Hangâ was only in Brazilian.
Hereâs an example of it building a very customised little lesson about my current PT challenge - installing air conditioning:
When describing the purpose of something, especially when that purpose involves a degree of uncertainty or desire, European Portuguese often uses the subjunctive mood. This is particularly useful when explaining why you are draining air conditioner condensate to the bathroom. The subjunctive mood is a verb form used to express hypothetical, uncertain, or desired actions or states. Itâs often introduced by conjunctions like âpara queâ (so that), âa fim de queâ (in order that), or âqueâ (that) when expressing purpose. Itâs important to note that the subjunctive is typically used in subordinate clauses when the main clause expresses a will, desire, request, or a state of uncertainty.
Dreno o condensado do ar condicionado para a casa de banho para que a ĂĄgua nĂŁo se acumule.
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Well, I finally did the CIPLE A2 test yesterday. Some parts were easier than expected, others obviously designed to trip people up, but Iâm pretty sure I knew enough to pass. Wonât get results until July. I was mostly worried about the speaking part, but it wasnât that difficult in the end. Happy to answer any questions people have.
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Well done!
What did the speaking involve? How did you study for it?