AM I READY FOR LEVEL A2 IN PORTUGUESE?

This is a question that many Portuguese learners ask themselves.

At the end of the A1 level, many students feel a little lost after having received a huge amount of information. Learning a language is a process that places considerable demands on our mental capacity, and by the end of the course, it can be difficult for students to assess their own performance.

Even without the help of a teacher, I would say that there are a few tests students can do to analyse their skills.

Let’s start with the number of hours a student should complete to feel comfortable at A1 level. I would say that a learner needs to have at least 30 hours of contact with a teacher and consolidate their learning with at least another 30 hours of homework. Therefore, to successfully complete the A1 level, a student should study at least 60 hours.

From a grammar perspective, students should feel comfortable using the present tense, the future (IR + infinitive), and the simple past tense. Of course, A1 grammar is not limited to these topics, but generally speaking, when a student is comfortable with these structures, the rest of the grammar tends to fall into place as well. You do not need to be perfect, but it is important to feel comfortable with regular verbs and the four main irregular verbs (IR, TER, SER, ESTAR) in the tenses mentioned above.

It is also important that listening and speaking skills have been practised and developed before moving on to the A2 level. In this area, our podcasts and our Interrogation Room can help.

If you would like to assess your listening comprehension skills, try our first A2-level podcast (it is free). If you can understand 60% or more after listening to it twice, then your skills are very likely in line with what is expected at the A2 level. Here is the link so that you can give it a try: https://lisbonlanguagecafe.pt/querido-diario-a2-portuguese-podcast/

In addition, the ability to answer simple questions should also be ready for what the A2 level requires. Once again, we can help. Try our Interrogation Room to find out how many questions you can understand and answer. Here is the link to our first A2-level interrogation: https://lisbonlanguagecafe.pt/interrogatorio-1-a2/

If you can understand and answer 10 or more questions, then you are on the right track.

If, after completing these activities, you are still unsure, I believe the best option is to book a trial lesson with an experienced teacher and clear up any remaining doubts.

Good luck!