Portuguese Class Offered At UJ

University of Jamestown has added Portuguese to its foreign language offerings. Students, as well as community members, are welcome to register.

Portuguese 101 was first introduced in the 2018 fall semester and will be offered for a second time in the 2019 spring semester. Anyone in the community is welcome to register for the class; no previous foreign language experience is required. The class is offered online with optional in-person meetings and is worth three credits.

Professor Alexandru Lefter, who will teach the course, was certified at the highest level for nonnative speakers by the University of Lisbon in July 2018. “Like Italian, Portuguese is a niche language that can open doors in such fields as business and commerce for our students,” Lefter commented. “Moreover, many Spanish graduate programs now require intermediate fluency in Portuguese as well, so Spanish majors who are considering graduate work would also find the course beneficial.”

For information on how to register for Portuguese 101, please email admission@uj.edu.

The Department of Foreign Language currently offers majors in French, German, and Spanish, requiring a combination of on-campus coursework and advanced language study in a study abroad program or US-based language immersion program. Minors are also available in French, German, Spanish, and Italian Studies.

“We do not offer a major or a minor in Portuguese at this time,” explained Lefter. “However, should a student wish to design their own major or minor, they can begin by studying the language at UJ and can meet their other requirements through an approved study abroad program in Portugal or Brazil.”