CELPE-Bras official Portuguese Exam preparation courses

Preparation for the CELPE-Bras

After completing your Portuguese standard course, it is highly recommended to take a two-week CELPE-Bras exam preparation course. This will allow you to strengthen your language skills and work on the specificities of the certificate.

An intermediate level is required by our partner schools.

Structure of the exam

The exam is offered twice a year, in April and October, and candidates must be 16 or over to sit the exam. The exam assesses students’ language ability in situations of everyday life.

Students holding the CELPE-Bras certificate are able to communicate in Portuguese, both in speaking and in writing.

Collective task (2 hours and 30 minutes)

This module assesses a range of skills, including listening, reading and writing in Portuguese. The papers are corrected by the Ministry of Education in Brasilia.

Individual task (20 minutes)

This module assesses your command of spoken Portuguese. This part involves interacting with one of the two examiners on topics related to everyday life, general knowledge or on a document such as a picture or image. The second examiner will give you a mark for this module.

Evaluation criteria

Here are the three evaluation criteria that determine the level of the student:

1. Contextualisation (comprehension and production of texts)

2. Relevant use of oral and written language

3. Richness and command of the vocabulary and grammar

The four levels of the CELPE-Bras

Intermediate certificate

Equivalent to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The candidate is able to:

• understand and produce texts, whether in writing or in speaking, on a limited range of topics and can use the language in situations of everyday life;
• build sentences with a simple structure and use appropriate vocabulary to deal with familiar situations.

Upper intermediate certificate

Equivalent to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The skills are the same as for level B1 but candidates make fewer mistakes related to mixing up their mother tongue with Portuguese, whether in speaking or in writing.

Advanced certificate

Equivalent to level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The candidate is able to:

• understand and write texts with ease on a range of topics, whether in speaking or in writing.
• speak fluently in familiar and unfamiliar situations.
• use complex grammatical structures and appropriate vocabulary, although the language might still be a little imprecise in unfamiliar situations.

Upper advance certificate

Equivalent to level C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The skills are the same as for level C1 but the language is more precise, both in speaking and in writing.