Assessing Portuguese

This chapter reviews the assessment of Portuguese as a foreign, second, and heritage language, emphasizing its role as a growing world language and the characteristics of its two standard varieties (European and Brazilian) and nonstandard varieties (regional Brazilian, African, and Asian). After a brief linguistic history and description, the methods and content of the most popular standardized tests for Portuguese—the Portuguese government's CAPLE and the Brazilian government's CELPE‐Bras are compared and contrasted. This analysis incorporates the learning environments provided by the Instituto Camões and the Centros de Estudos Brasileiros—who administer the CAPLE and CELPE‐Bras, respectively—as well as the different proficiency levels determined by performance on these exams. US‐based learning environments and methods of assessment are also addressed. The second part of the chapter looks at special assessment issues in Portuguese, taking as a point of departure the CAPLE and CELPE‐Bras to examine the challenges of assessing a language with two distinct standard varieties against the backdrop of distinct learner goals and the sociolinguistics of nonstandard Portuguese. Finally, two unique and growing populations of Portuguese learners—Spanish speakers and heritage speakers—are discussed, particularly regarding what types of assessment might be relevant for these learners.