Portuguese has become the leading language on US university entrance exams in 2023.

This year, Portuguese was the leading language in the National Examinations of World Languages ​​(NEWL), which provide credit for access to higher education in North America, with more registrations than other languages ​​offered.

The Coordinator of Portuguese Education in the United States of America (USA), Joao Caixinha, told Lusa that 376 high school students from 26 educational institutions across the country, including American schools and Portuguese public schools, took the NEWL exam in Portuguese. 26 April.

With the highest number of registrations, Portuguese has surpassed other NEWL languages, namely Russian, Korean and Arabic.

“These figures demonstrate the growing interest in the exam and in the assessment and certification of Portuguese language knowledge and skills. This is also the total number of students receiving final certificates that are converted into credits to be provided to US universities for access to higher education education in 2023/2024,” the official statement said.

A technical counting error by the American Councils for International Education (AC), the organization that developed these multilingual exams, resulted in 577 students signing up for the exam. However, after clarifying the data, it turned out that 409 people registered this year, and 376 people actually passed the exam.

The Coordination of Portuguese Education in the United States (CEPE-USA) considers the final balance to be “very positive.”

“According to data provided by AC CEPE-USA, about 80% of these 376 students showed a high level of proficiency in the Portuguese NEWL exam, which in practice means more advanced enrollment in Portuguese language courses in American universities, that is, these students are those who have now started higher education education, will save money on tuition fees because they are enrolled in intermediate and advanced Portuguese courses instead of starting in beginner courses, thanks to the results obtained on this exam,” CEPE-USA emphasized.

Of the 376 students who took the exam, 186 are considered “heritage students – especially students of Portuguese descent and Brazilians”, with students of Portuguese descent receiving scholarships from the Camões Institute and the Portuguese American Development Foundation (FLAD). , who paid the cost of studying for the exam (97 dollars, i.e. about 90 euros).

According to João Caixinha, the large turnout recorded this year is the result of the work and investments that have been made over the past few years by various organizations, from the Camões Institute to FLAD, through the diplomatic and consular network in the United States, as well as the Portuguese teaching coordination group .

NEWL exams assess the linguistic skills (text comprehension, speaking, writing and speaking) of students from Year 9 onwards (when they can take an exam to test their skills and knowledge) until Year 12, when they can use the exam to obtain credits for access to higher education.

The NEWL Portuguese exam was created in 2017 and is recognized by the College Board’s Advanced Placement program, which provides credit for access to higher education in the United States, as well as by universities in North America.