Portuguese Individualized Instruction
Location and instructors || General information || Appointments || Resources
Portuguese I.I. is a self-paced, mastery-based program of learning the language that is designed to mirror the courses offered in the classroom. The courses offered are Portuguese 101.51, 102.51, 103.51, and 104.51. The individualized and the classroom tracks have the same goals: to help the student achieve a certain degree of proficiency in the four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). However, Portuguese I.I. differs from classroom courses in the following:
Mastery-based learning: Because of the highly independent nature of language learning in the I.I. program, we require that students perform at the level of 80% or better.
Variable pacing: In I.I. you set your own pace of learning. Each unit will guide you step by step through the program, but you must work regularly! Self-motivated students do better in this type of program than those who need "exterior" encouragement (from a teacher or a deadline, for example).
Flexible credit: One full course is worth five credit hours. In the classroom, these 5 hours would be completed over a 10-week quarter. In the Individualized Instruction program, you can spread those credits hours over more than one quarter (or, conversely, you can finish one course and start another in the same quarter). The number of credit hours earned depends on your learning pace. You may earn anywhere between two and twenty credit hours per quarter. Only students finishing a course or those enrolled through Program 60 (or other special programs) may register for one credit per quarter. In Portuguese I.I., one credit hour is equivalent to one module; each complete course comprises a total of 5 modules.
Flexible meeting times: All work in I.I. is done on an appointment basis. You set deadlines for finishing each module and make the required appointments when you are ready. You need to set your deadlines for each module with an instructor. How often you come in to see an instructor depends on how quickly you are working and how much additional help you need. It will also depend on available appointment times.
