Most of the students enrolling in this sequence will have thoroughly completed one year to three semesters of Portuguese and will typically have a proficiency level of "Intermediate-Low” (and occasionally “Intermediate-Mid"), according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. In this class, they will strengthen their knowledge of grammatical and syntactical structures and improve their mastery of the language while increasing vocabulary and functional communicative ability. Students will be also exposed to the reading of short stories and other authentic texts in the target language, participating actively in conversations and debates in both formal and informal learning settings. They also develop the ability to sustain communicative exchanges using connected discourse of paragraph length and substance, discussing several different topics related to the Lusophone world nowadays, as they exchange information widespread in the media, such as articles and news from magazines and newspapers, diminishing increasingly their pattern of errors. Most students successfully completing this sequence will emerge with a proficiency level of "Intermediate-High." Depending on motivation, effort, and previous knowledge, some students may progress to a level of "Advanced-Low" or "Advanced-Mid" during this sequence.