Who we are

Founded in 1959, CIAL has organised Portuguese Language Courses for more than 40 years, being the first language school in Portugal to have a year round offer of courses in all levels. Since the early 70s, we’ve had the privilege of welcoming thousands of students in our schools, and we keep on working today to ensure that CIAL maintains its international reputation as a high quality and hospitable language school.

Either in Lisbon or Faro, students will find a true international atmosphere with more than 1200 students from more than 50 different countries per year. The age of CIAL students ranges from 18 to 80+, the motivation to learn Portuguese varies as widely as the nationalities, from leisure to exam preparation or career progression.

CIAL offers high quality teaching, combining quality, flexibility and friendliness. We believe our responsibilities are not confined to the four walls of the classroom: the aim is to provide students with a full cultural experience through our comprehensive activity program and carefully selected accommodation options.

CIAL's courses are fully aligned with the Common European Framework for Languages (QEFR) and recognised and accredited nationally and internationally. Members of the teaching team have been involved in producing textbooks and other materials for more than 30 years. These materials are published and became the leading teaching materials for Portuguese worldwide.