Portuguese Through Stem and Project-Based Learning

The UW STARTALK Student Program, “Portuguese through STEM and Project-Based Learning,” aims to enroll 20 high school and college (*High School students will be given priority) Portuguese and Spanish heritage language students in a four-week intensive Portuguese language program meeting six hours a day for a total of 120 instructional hours plus 20 hours for the online component preceding the face-to-face program. Portuguese heritage students are expected to increase their proficiency level from Intermediate Low to High, and Spanish heritage students, who will be just beginning their study of Portuguese, will aim to reach Intermediate Low (or higher) proficiency. The program is designed to develop students’ proficiency in Interpretive Reading and Listening, Presentational Speaking, and Presentational Writing in Portuguese, and in the Interpersonal Mode, students will increase their linguistic accuracy and sensitivity to cultural norms, e.g., social register and linguistic forms not typically encountered in intimate family speech.

Students will be able to earn six University of Washington credits by enrolling in PORT 105 and also have an opportunity to complete the ACTFL AAPPL in the beginning of the program and the ACTFL OPIc (Oral Proficiency Interview computer-based) and WPT (Writing Proficiency Test) at the end of the program. High school students may be able to use these results in order to receive up to four high school competency-based credits, and all students will receive placement results for future study of Portuguese at the UW.

Highlights:

• 6 UW credits by enrolling in PORT 105
• 120 hours of total instructional content with emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
• Scholarship Assistance for ACTFL OPIc (Oral Proficiency Interview computer-based) and WPT (Writing Proficiency Test), and the possibility for high school students to earn up to 4 competency-based credits for high school world languages
• Development of linguistic accuracy and sensitivity to cultural norms
• Two exciting trips to the Museum of Flight: the Aviation Learning Center and the Challenger Learning Center
• Interviews with professionals from Microsoft and Boeing
• Elective Projects beyond STEM topics

UW Summer Quarter Registration Fee for the four-week Student Program: $45

Program Director: Dr. Paul Aoki
Student Program Lead Instructor: Dr. Eduardo Viana da Silva
Student Program Instructor (Digital Storytelling): Heloisa Machado
Student Program Instructor (Geographic Information Systems): Anderson Sandes


View the closing ceremony program