Portuguese Course in Porto, Portugal

Fast Forward Language Institute, Porto:
The Portuguese branch of Fast Forward Language Institute is located in Porto which is world renowned for the wine of its surrounding regions.

At the Fast Forward Language Institute we work hard to create an intimate atmosphere both during and after class time that welcomes, inspires, challenges and responds to each individual student. Since our founding in Brazil, we have taught many students and executives from all over the world. Judging by what they tell us and the exam results they achieve, our students find studying with a us a truly satisfying experience.

Here at our school in Porto, northern Portugal the student will have a completely different experience with the Portuguese language than that which is found in Brazil, tracing the Portuguese language and culture to their origins. Porto offers a unique experience in the modern life of the Portuguese language and the people who natively speak it.

Provide quality Portuguese language programs in a professional and friendly environment to create an effective and enjoyable learning experience for all our students.

The Portuguese language enjoys a lively and varied lexicon throughout the world today. Fast Forward Language Institute is unique in its intimate approach to acquiring language through total cultural immersion. We believe it imperative to integrate our institution’s academic setting with the modern life of each individual city.

Group Portuguese Courses; Private Portuguese Lessons; Intensive Portuguese Classes; Superintensive Portuguese Classes; Executive Portuguese Courses; Language Proficiency Test Preparation PLE (Português Lingua Estrangeira).

My host mother and her daughters were very friendly. I had two teachers: Alexandra and Angela. They were very good teachers: They motivated me a lot and their lessons were great! I think they prepared me pretty well for Brazil!  Although the weather was very bad, we had quiet a lot of fun during the activities. Best Activity: The visit to the "caves do vinho do Porto".
Merlind Weber, Germany

You have a choice of host family, apartment, student residence or hotel accommodations the whole year round.

Host families are the most frequently chosen housing option. Fast Forward Language Institute ensures that each family offers a quality living situation and respects each student’s wishes as much as possible in the family selection. The host families themselves are experienced and enthusiastic participants in the student’s life. When it comes to immersion into life, language, etc., living with a host family is by far the most intense. It truly is an experience not to be passed up. Breakfast or half board is included (evening meal 6 to 8 p.m.).

Options for those who prefer to live more independently include:
- Pousadas – These are lower cost hotels. They are fully furnished, and almost like apartments.
- Apartment – This is a more costly option, yet also offers a bit more luxury.
- Hotels – each city offers a wide array of hotels in terms of price, location and style.

All the activities are conducted in Portuguese and in English by our guide or by one teacher. Students may need to pay for boat trips, cinema and theatre tickets and dinners.

Ribeira:
The riverside Ribeira district is the most alluring part of Porto, a window onto the past with shadowed lanes, grimy cobbled passages and boats at the quayside (now mostly for show, advertising or tourist jaunts).

Jardins do Palácio de Cristal:
These modest, leafy park, named after a long gone 19th century crystal palace, is home to a sport pavilion, gardens and a pond, roving peacocks and a reasonable self service restaurant. But pride of place goes to the new, high tech Bilioteca Municipal Almeida Garrett.

Solar do Vinho do Porto:
The finest place in Porto to drink Port wine is the Solar do Vinho do Porto, a posh bar with a river view terrace beside the Palácio de Cristal’s garden. Waiters will help you choose from hundreds of varieties.

Museu Romântico:
Beside the Palácio de Cristal’s garden is the Quinta da Macieirinha, where the abdicated King of Sardinia, Carlos Alberto, spent his final days in 1843.

Sé Catedral:
This fortress of a Cathedral dominate central Porto from its highest hill. It was founded in the 12th century but rebuild a century later and extensively altered in the 18th century. Only a Romanesque rose window and the 14th century Gothic cloister remain from earlier encarnations. Much of the rest, inside and out, bears the baroque stamp of Nicolau Nasoni. Best of all is the upper story of the cloister (rich via a Nasoni – designed stairway), decorated with 18th century azulejos (hand painted tiles) and affording some fine views.

River Cruises:
Several outfits offer cruises in barcos rabelos, the colourful boats once used to transport port wine from the vineyards. Board at Porto´s Cais da Ribeira or Cais da Estiva, or Vila Nova de Gaia’s Cais de Gaia or Cais amarelo, cruises last one hour or more should you wish to see Porto Bridges’ or go to Peso da Régua, in the North of Portugal.

São João:
The most popular party in Porto. Everything is open - windows and doors of cafes, bars, houses and restaurants; tables, chairs and benches line every available space, as squares, cobbled alleys and the riverfront become one giant open-air cafe. The whole night long sees a mixture of people and ages out on the streets. This is the one party that no one in Porto wants to miss.

Estádio do Dragão:
The old Antas stadium - official name Estádio das Antas - was already one of the greatest stadiums in Portugal, but a new stadium has arisen in its place for 2004 European Championship tournament - the Dragao Stadium. The Euro 2004 Dragao stadium is a special stadium with an impressive design. The stadium has a total capacity of 52,000 seats.

Francesinha Festival:
In the beginning of June we have in porto the Francesinha Festival. This festival, with more than 50.000 visitors, is located in Foz do Douro and is the best place to taste one of the Porto’s famous Francesinha.

Fado:
There are many restaurants and houses where you can listen to Fado while having dinner or tasting some Port Wine. One of the most interesting places where you can listen to Fado is Café Guarany, right at the centre of Porto. Founded in 1933 Guarany has always been known as the musicians' cafe.

Porto is a European city with an immense historical patrimony, yet is also well-linked to present and future times.

As a trading center at the mouth of the Rio Douro, Porto is the second largest city after Lisbon. The place has a number of distinctive atmospheres and this is very evident when visiting the various parts of the city.

The quarter around the riverside, known as the Ribeira, is full of narrow, twisting streets with houses once painted or tiled in colorful facades, and full of the bustling energy of working people during the day and the liveliness of busy "tascas" and restaurants at night.

The district around the Cathedral is full of monuments to past achievements and streets lined with houses built like layers of a cake then crowded together with a maze of small alleys in-between.

The Cordoaria quarter is for the students with steep streets and interesting shops. The civic center of the city is in the Central e Baixa quarter with broad avenues lined with banks and outdoor cafe, or in the Baixa where the daily two-tiered covered market goes about its business.

Lastly, the Boavista area is the arterial route in and out of the city past blocks of apartments and hotels. As would be expected from such an important city it is full of fascinating buildings as well.

Wine: Porto is world renowned for the wine of its surrounding regions. For many visitors to Porto and to students at our institute, this is the focus of their stay. Here you have innumerable opportunities to visit vineyards, tasting, producers, festivals, educational events, etc.