Tradições do ano novo em Portugal - New Year's traditions in Portugal

Every country has it's traditions and superstitions for going into the New Year, and Portugal is no exception. Do you know any of these?

1 - You should wear blue underwear! Deve vestir roupa interior azul.
2 - You should wear a new item of clothing. Deve estrear uma peça de roupa.
3 - At midnight, you should eat 12 rasins to the chimes of midnight and make wishes. Deve comer doze passas em cada uma das doze baladas e pedir desejos.
4 - You should toast with champagne. Deve brindar com champagne.
5 - You should make a lot of noise at midnight. Deve fazer muito barulho à meia-noite.

Are any of these the same as in your country? No seu país de origem

Desejo-lhes tudo de bom para o ano novo!

How to be Prepared & Pass that Dreaded CIPLE A2 Exam

For most of us, taking an exam is not something we willingly put ourselves through.  Just the thought of taking an exam can be terrifying - sitting in a classroom, clock ticking, nerves jumping, trying to squeeze our memory and put the answers on paper – a terrible prospect to be avoided at all costs.  And with a language exam we have, joy of joy, a speaking exam to look forward to…  Spotlight on us, being evaluated on what we say, the fear of failure can really put us off going through all this.

And then we find ourselves thinking, well, if I do this A2 CIPLE exam in Portuguese, I could make my life in Portugal a whole lot easier… I could apply for nationality, no longer need to renew residency regularly… or maybe you would like or need to take another exam in order to get the job you want, or simply feel you would like some official recognition, a document, to say you really do know the Portuguese language well. 

Why are we uncomfortable with exams?

We carry our past experiences with us, both good and bad.  They make us who we are, and one of the reasons why so many of us feel this way about exams and tests is because we have had less than pleasant experiences in the past.  Memories of having to take tests we were poorly prepared for, or that feeling of everything being gone from our heads, the mind going blank, or being forced to take tests, all this can add up to us deciding that it’s much better not to bother.  Let’s see if I can convince you it’s worth the hassle!

Let’s look into the parts

What exactly do you have to do in the CIPLE A2 exam (and similar tests)?

The CIPLE test is divided into 4 parts which you will do on one day.  Each part evaluates a different language skill – Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking (Compreensão da leitura, Produção e interação escritas, Compreensão do oral, Expressão oral).  Each part has more or less the same weighting, the listening having slightly more marks (30%).  You do not need to ‘pass’ each part to pass the exam.  The overall pass mark is 55% (over 70% is Bom - good, over 85% Muito bom – very good).  There is no explicit grammar section, this is evaluated in your speaking and writing (so you need to ensure you demonstrate your wonderful Portuguese with a wide range of language and tenses!).  

• Reading and Writing components are together (1h 15mins – multiple choice questions on a lot of texts and write one short and one longer text, informal language),

• Listening (30mins – you hear each text / dialogue twice) is separate,

• Speaking exam (10-15mins) you will normally do with one other candidate.

You receive the timings a few weeks before the exam, everyone at each exam centre will do the written papers at the same time, but the speaking times will be allocated in pairs.  

The most challenging parts are the listening comprehension (the texts and dialogues are read at normal speed, and they engineer background noises into the recordings – street noise etc…  However there are no regional accents to deal with.) and the speaking test – nerves being the usual issue here!   

I like to remind students that this is an A2 level exam, so errors are expected and acceptable, but not basic errors, like masculine / feminine agreement etc.  One issue some students have is they try to produce very complex language and get tangled up.  But no complex language is expected, just clearly communicated (fairly) correct simple language.

For candidates between 12 and 15 there is a different version of the exam – eCIPLE for them. 

If you go searching online you can find a couple of sample papers, but be aware that these are pretty much all that are available, aside from a book you buy that has 2 sample tests.  So, if you are serious about taking the exam I strongly recommend not doing these tests until you are getting on with your exam preparation, as there are so few resources available.  Why does the university not make the past papers available?  There is a lot of recycling of old papers in the current exams… so they would be giving the game away!  

“Before anything else ..

.. preparation is the key to success”

Alexander Graham Bell

How to pass and get the best marks?

How can we then achieve our goal of getting this certificate and not put ourselves though hell in the process?  

1 – Remember that an exam is there to evaluate your level of knowledge – in this case your Portuguese language.  You will need to be at the level required to be in the best position to pass the exam.  The CIPLE is a high A2 level in the Common European Framework  Info here and a table here on the levels and what this means in practical terms.  Comparing the exam to very similar English exams, I would consider it to be more in line with the equivalent B1 exams.  One important point is that you need to have a very good working knowledge of the past tense(s) – to write and speak about past events confidently.  So, if you are not up to the level, get studying!!  The test is designed to evaluate your ability to function in Portuguese speaking situations.  The focus is on day to day situations and you ned to have decent listening skills and a good working vocabulary.

2 – Be familiar with the exam format, timing and remember there are lots of techniques and strategies for passing exams you can learn.  Being familiar with what you will be asked to do, and learning the best way to provide the answers that are expected in a time-efficient way with be very helpful.

3 – Practise and get good feedback on how you are doing, especially for the written and spoken components.  

4 – Be confident!  If you have nailed the above 3 points, you are ready to go!  Turn up on the day of the exam having slept well, not jittering from too much coffee, and feeling like you are going to do your very best.  A positive mindset makes a huge difference.

What next if I decide to do the test?  

Think about your timescale and your current level of Portuguese.  If you feel you are up to the level of the exam, choose your date and venue, book your test and then get stuck into preparation.  If your need to boost your level, get studying!  

A few useful points:

• The exam dates for the year only come out in January or February, so planning for taking exams at the beginning of the year can be tricky. This year it was only possible to book from the 1st March (and many of the early dates booked up very soon after that date). Once you have decided when and where you want to do the exam, book as places are often very limited. (although you can book up to 3 weeks before the exam date). The price is 72€.

• There are national and international dates. You can take the exam inside and outside of Portugal on the international dates, but only in Portugal on the national dates. This year (2022) the exam will be on 12th May, 14th July, 10th November (national and international), and only in Portugal 18th June and 22nd October.

• Choose your exam centre wisely. Some locations are busy, so there can be a lot of noise for the listening test, this is particularly the case for Lisboa. I have found Leiria to be a very nice exam centre if you are in the centre of Portugal.

• Be aware (thinking of the speaking component of the exam, where you have to speak with someone else) that there are people who take the test that are either – totally unprepared, having heard it is a low level exam, so are well below the level, and/or have no idea what to expect; or are fluent in Portuguese and are only taking the exam for bureaucratic purposes. Try not to let this put you off. The examiners / assessors are trained to evaluate you separately.

Need help?

Get in touch ..

If you need advice or help in preparing for your language exam in Portuguese, do get in touch with me <here>. Find out more and/or register here for our next CIPLE preparation course.

Official links to bookmark:  

• Information on all exams and timetable here: https://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt/exames

• You can enroll here: https://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt/inscricao

• Specific information on the CIPLE here, including that one precious example test: https://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt/exame/2/ciple

• Information from the PT government website on all of the situations: (in English): https://eportugal.gov.pt/en/servicos/pedir-a-nacionalidade-portuguesa

• Information on applying for nationality if you have been resident for at least 6 years: (in Portuguese): https://justica.gov.pt/Como-obter-nacionalidade-portuguesa/Reside-legalmente-em-Portugal-ha-pelo-menos-6-anos

(Originally published in Portugal Living Magazine, Summer 2022 Issue #5)