Taglearning Portuguese

Integrating into Your New Community

Moving to a new country is an adventure filled with new experiences and learning opportunities. For those making Portugal their new home, embracing Portuguese culture and key traditions is a great way to start feeling you belong. Here in our guide we thought we would share our top insights into how you as a new resident can immerse yourself in the local culture and community life of Portugal. Embracing the Language and Communication Number 1 most important thing! If you ...Read more

“Everyone speaks English!”

Many thanks to by Leslie Smith for this fabulous insight 🙂 Recently I was contacted by an American expat who intending to write the Portuguese B1 exam soon. A California native, this professional woman now lives with her husband in a beautiful Portuguese surfing town where she takes Portuguese lessons. Still, Catarina (not her real name) was uneasy that her level of Portuguese might not be up to par for the exam. She had not taken the easier A2 level ...Read more

How to learn Portuguese — and why you should!

Thank you to the wonderful Leslie Smith for another great article and insight! Portuguese is a difficult language to learn. Ok, let’s be frank, it’s notoriously difficult. Part of the problem is that Brazilian Portuguese tends to dominate, and grammatical rules, expressions and the accent (“o sotaque”) are noticeably different. Just when you think you have mastered something, a great expression, say, boom, it’s Brazilian. There are lots of different local accents throughout Portugal which can complicate things, as well ...Read more

The B1 Exam

Thank you to Leslie Smith for sharing her experiences with us all here! In November of 2022, I wrote the DEPLE or B1 exam offered by the official Portuguese- language CAPLE Evaluation Centre. My exam was held at the Portuguese Consulate in Toronto, Canada, a five-hour train journey from my home. I needed to stay overnight in Toronto to be sure to be fresh and ready for the 3.5 hour exam. The exam started at 2:30 p.m. but candidates needed ...Read more

The A2 (CIPLE) Portuguese language proficiency test

The A2 exam is held several times annually in Portugal and usually two times per year in locations outside the country, often at a Portuguese consulate. Pre-registration is mandatory and the cut-off date is usually about a month before the exam. This exam is necessary for Portuguese citizenship or permanent residency. It confers the necessary ”CIPLE” or ”Certificado Inicial de Português Língua Estrangeira”, showing holders have a basic understanding of everyday Portuguese. However, there are some exceptions to who needs a ...Read more