Students will work in pairs.
Each pair will randomly select one of the situations listed below from a deck of situation cards.
The pair will be given five minutes to prepare a conversation based on that situation. They may use a dictionary but may not receive help from anyone else.
The pair should act out the conversation in Portuguese, trying to talk for at least one minute. Extra credit will be given for exceeding one minute. They will not be allowed to read from notes.
Teams will be judged on:
content (appropriateness of conversation to situation)
presentation (enthusiasm, clarity and projection; no notes)
fluency (absence of hesitations)
linguistic accuracy (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary)
adherence to time limit (extra credit for each minute beyond one)
SITUATIONS: Please note that our intent here is only to provide a situation from which a conversation can be generated, not to dictate what is to be said. Within the framework of the situation, students are free to make any imaginative elaborations necessary to expand and lengthen the conversation. One student should introduce the topic of conversation; for example, Uma pessoa tenta convencer um amigo a ir ao cinema, mas o amigo não quer.
Two young people meet and one tries to convince the other to participate in an activity together (movie, dance, sporting event, concert, etc.). The other is reluctant and has a number of reasons not to go.
Two young people have just left a movie theater and are discussing the movie. One liked it and the other didn't.
Two friends are talking about what they each did during Spring Break.
Two students are discussing their parents and their occupations.
Two students who came through the Portuguese DLI program together have just bumped into each other after a year’s separation. One of their families moved, so the two students have been taking Portuguese at different high schools. They compare similarities and differences between their schools.
A policeman is trying to calm a lost child and help the child find his/her parents.
A child has found a stray animal and tries to convince a parent that they should keep it.
A student has just come back from a Portuguese-speaking country and is telling a friend about the things that are different from the United States.
A student approaches their father/mother to ask for money needed for some purchase, project, or activity. The parent asks for full information about why the child doesn't use their own money, if it is absolutely necessary, if it will be paid back, etc.
A student approaches his/her teacher to explain that their family is going to Disney World in the middle of the school year and the student will miss a week of class. The teacher is not pleased and presses the student for details on how he/she will keep from falling behind and make up the missed work.