A B2 level of Portuguese is a fantastic level to aim for. It isn’t as daunting as the C1, which can often take years to achieve, but it’s something that some people will be able to achieve in less than a year.
Having a B2 or upper-intermediate level of Portuguese will give you the skills and confidence to speak Portuguese at quite a confident level. You may still struggle with accents, certain vocabulary or phrases, and expressing yourself as comfortably as you do in your native language, but the B2 level is a significant step up from the beginner levels.
According to the CEFR guide, a B2 language speaker will be able to:
- Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialisation.
- Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
- Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
Courses
Thankfully, most of the main European Portuguese course providers offer content that goes as far as B2.
- Mia Esmeriz Academy – Mia’s offers a course bundle that covers both B1 and B2 Portuguese.
- Practice Portuguese – Practice Portuguese offers a lot of grammar and audio content that’s marked on the website as B2 level.
- Portuguese Lab Academy – Offers grammar and audio material at the B2 level.
Textbooks
If you prefer to use a textbook over an online course, or are just looking for more study materials, the following books are all aimed at intermediate Portuguese learners.
- Vamos Lá Continuar! – Grammar and Vocabulary exercises for levels B1, B2, and C1
- Olá! Como Está? – This textbook covers several levels of Portuguese: A1 – B2.
- Aprender Português – Book 2 and Book 3 in the series covers both B1 and B2 Portuguese.
- Avançar em Português – Textbook for advancing your Portuguese covering the B2 level.
- Português Atual 2 – Book 2 of the Português Atual series, which covers B1 and B2 Portuguese.
Other resources
- The Journey – The content within The Journey isn’t separated into CEFR grades (A1, B2, etc) but a lot of it is suitable for intermediate level language learners, whether B1 or B2.
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