Started with a couple of simple questions. What is your name, what is your age.
Then she asked us both a few individual questions. I was asked where I live, asked to describe my house (number of rooms, location etc) , what I like about it, then asked to name a few of my hobbies. I only spoke for a couple of minutes and kept it really simple.
Then we were both given a photo and asked to describe it. Mine was of a bedroom (looked like something lifted from a luxury real estate listing). I listed the things I could see in it (I made sure to learn a lot of words for common household items), I mentioned that it looked like it was in a big expensive house, said I prefer smaller houses, said I like the art on the walls etc etc. Doesnāt really matter what you say, whether you believe it or not, or how simple it is, just that you keep talking for a couple of minutes.
Then we had to interact with our partner. We were given a sheet with five images of people doing various activities - hiking, watching a movie, doing chores etc. We had a minute to prepare and then were prompted to talk to each other for a few minutes as if we were making plans for the weekend, we had to mention some pros/cons of doing each activity, then agree on one and set a time to do it.
It was pretty much over in 10 minutes. Overall, it was simpler than I expected, or maybe I just got lucky with topics I could talk about. I was pretty nervous at the start but the person taking the test spoke very clearly and was very friendly and encouraging, so I think that put us at ease.
So as to prep, Iāve been studying on and off since we got our visas, and that was almost 5 years ago. Practice Portuguese is great for basic vocab and grammar. Watched a lot of programs on RTP, listened to podcasts like 45 Graus or Portugueses No Mundo (some of the listening questions were lifted straight from that), and read some basic Portuguese stories and books for learners. For the past year Iāve been doing weekly 2 hour group classes by Zoom (just with a local teacher in my city) and weāre now heading into B2 material. You could pass with much less effort than I put in, but I like learning languages as a hobby and actually want to learn Portuguese to a useful level.
Thanks, that doesnāt sound too bad, but like you say it may come down to luck on the day and what vocab topics you get! It feels to me like there are a certain number of ātopicsā and youāre best placed to learn vocab around those topics well enough to recall it under pressure, rather than trying to learn 1000s of words.
Did you use a mix of tenses and different grammatical forms in your speaking test?
Would you say that Practice Portugueseā classification of what grammar falls in A2 is accurate? The reason I ask is that Iām currently taking an A1 course following the āPortugues a Valerā text book. A fair amount of the grammar weāre learning in our A1 course is classed as A2 by PP.
In case anyone is looking for everyday vocabulary by subject (colours, food items, clothes, etc.). I like this one because it has buttons right next to the words for pronunciation. The downside is they are not flashcards so probably only good for review, not good for learning new words.
CIPLE goes up to A2 anyway so it doesnāt matter if itās A1 or A2.
If you look at Practice Portugueseās units there are much more units in A1 and A2. So if you have time to finish A1 and A2 units, you could probably finish their B1 and B2 units too with just a litte more effort. For example subjunctive is under B2 but is actually quite simple, and learning it makes it easier to understand phrases like āou sejaā¦ā
I did. For A2, you really need a solid grasp of present indicative, preterite, the ir + infinitive future, and imperative forms.
As to your question about Practice Portuguese, it is excellent, but donāt rely on that alone. The issue for all of these platforms like PracPort is the official CAPLE material doesnāt list exactly what you need in terms of vocabulary, grammar etc, just what situations you should be able to handle. There is a reason for this. A2 is a standardised level that follows the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). And that framework describes competencies you need to master (introducing yourself, talking about daily routine, making simple requests etc). It doesnāt outline any expected grammar (which makes sense given it is a standard that cover multiple European languages with different grammar). You can get a copy of the outline that CAPLE follows for the CIPLE test in the front of the books of sample tests called Exames de PortuguĆŖs CAPLE-UL - that book is widely available and I highly recommend doing the two sample tests before attempting the real thing.
I also used a textbook series by Ana Tavares called PortuguĆŖs XXI. That has books for A1 and A2 levels that are good at covering all the grammar you need to handle the day-to-day situations tested in CIPLE.
Learning the top 1000 words is a very good place to start. It wouldnāt be hard to create a flashcard set from that page using something like Quizlet.
Have you come across a good set of flashcards for the most frequently used 2000 or 5000 words (or any number in between)? Without having to go through lessons/videos/modules PracticePortuguese style.
Thanks this is very useful. These tenses and forms weāve already learnt on my A1 course, so hopefully I can really solidify my knowledge of them before the exam. No I wonāt just be relying on PP - planning to continue to work through the second Portugues a Valer exercise book, do lots of listening practice (Iāve bought the book that I think was recommended in this thread) and get a tutor to help with speaking practice.
The extent to which it matters is that if Iāve already learnt most of the verb tenses and forms needed for the A2 exam, that makes the challenge of getting from A1 to A2 much easier.
Has anyone taken the A1/A2 PLA language class with NIALP, Edusept or SegundaVida? They all offer classes similar to EdPro. But I have not seen anyone who completed one of these.