A strategic partnership for the study of Portuguese in multilingual settings

Month: May 2022

HL2C Seminar: Yvonne Foley (Edinburgh), Diverse Critical Literacies: Pedagogies of Recognition

Our next exciting HL2C/SLLAT seminar will take place on Wednesday 1st June 2022, from 12 noon to 1pm (Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London).

Presenters:

Yvonne Foley (Edinburgh)

Title:

Diverse Critical Literacies: Pedagogies of Recognition

How to join:

Our seminars are free to attend. Simply sign up to the HL2C Mailing List to receive the link to join us via Microsoft Teams link. You do not need a Teams account to access the talk.

Abstract:

There are increasing numbers of pupils learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) in schools in the United Kingdom. In excess of a million pupils across UK schools currently speak one or more languages in addition to English, many of whom are refugees fleeing war and violence. There are very few papers that report on research that explores the diverse accounts of pupils learning EAL and their experiences in schooling contexts. Their voices remain silent. This study sought to begin to address those gaps by exploring how teachers draw on critical literacy practices to engage in identity work with their pupils.

This paper will present initial findings from a case study that set out to foreground a linguistically diverse group of EAL learners’ own voices about their identities and their school experiences as they develop literacies within an English-medium environment. A secondary focus of attention investigated how teaching staff within that context perceived the current situation and the needs of EAL learners, along with what they viewed as appropriate responses to these needs as learners constructed their sense of self.

A sociocultural lens was used to examine these perceptions and the interpretation of findings has drawn on recent theorizing on identity, belonging and migration. Interviews and classroom observations were used to address two main questions: how do EAL pupils talk about their sense of self during critical literacy practices? And what identities do teachers make space for during the teaching and learning of literacy in their school and classroom settings?

Initial findings and recommendations about ways in which both learner and teacher perceptions could be used to understand how multilingual identities are formed through the use of critical literacy practices will be discussed.

Refresher course in teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language

The Faculty of Arts at the University of Porto (FLUP) and Camões Instituto da Cooperacao e da Língua, IP,  is jointly offering a remote refresher course in teaching  Portuguese as a Foreign Language (CAPPLE). The course is open to teachers of Portuguese as a Foreign Language who wish to update their professional knowledge in teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language and teachers of Portuguese who wish to train in teaching Portuguese as a foreign/second language. Holders of a degree at a Portuguese university (with preference being given to degrees that integrate Portuguese Studies) or a degree obtained at a foreign university with a component of Portuguese Studies may also apply. Applications are open between March 24, 2022 and June 8, 2022.

The course is accredited by the Conselho Científico-Pedagógico da Formação Contínua (CCPFC), which is relevant for the career progression of teachers in teaching groups associated with the Portuguese language, and awards 3 ECTS in the European System of Accumulation and Transfer of Credits. The main objectives of the course are

  • to reflect on the key linguistic areas for learners of Portuguese as a non-native language
  • to perceive language as a means of social interaction and the identity of individuals in their interactions and relationships with the learning environment
  • to know the current cultural and social elements of the Portuguese language
  • to know the regulatory documents of the disciplinary domain in question
  • to familiarize trainees with techniques and procedures for the development of teaching Portuguese as a non-native language

Candidates may also apply for one of the 10 grants of €250  from Camões, IP to attend this edition of the course. Candidates wishing to apply for a Camões, IP scholarship must submit their application for the course online and indicate their intention to apply for the scholarship. The course application documents must include a CV and qualification certificates, as well as a motivation letter justifying the scholarship application. These must be submitted as part of the online application and also sent to the following email address: uec@letras.up.pt . The documents will be sent to Camões, IP, the institution responsible for the decision to award the scholarship.

For more information, please click here .

Event poster and sessions calendar

Happy Portuguese Language Day

Feliz Dia Mundial da Língua Portuguesa!

In 2009, May 5 was officially designated  “Portuguese Language Day” by the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa, CPLP), the intergovernmental organization that represents nations that share Portuguese as an official language (in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America).

Ten years later, in 2019, UNESCO designated May 5 “World Portuguese Language Day” (Dia Mundial da Língua Portuguesa).

As specified on the UNESCO website, “The Portuguese language is not only one of the most widespread languages in the world, with more than 265 million speakers spread through all continents, but it is also the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. Portuguese remains, today, a major language of international communication and a language with a strong geographical projection, destined to increase. “

For information, please visit the UNESCO website (click here for English, and here for Portuguese). For a message from UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, please scroll down.

 

International Conference on Heritage Languages Around the World in two weeks!

Only two weeks remain until the International Conference on Heritage Languages Around the World (HLAW), an exciting event taking place in person which brings together various research perspectives on heritage languages in order to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of language development and education in immigrant and minority language communities around the world.

Dates and location: 18th to 20th May 2022, University of Lisbon.

Organisers: HL2C members Ana Lúcia Santos (Lisbon), Cristina Flores (Minho), Luiz Amaral (UMass Amherst) and Hugo Cardoso (Lisbon) and by their respective institutions, Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Humanísticos da Universidade do Minho, the Portuguese Program and the Heritage Language Research Group at UMass Amherst.

Programme: The programme is available here. The four keynote speakers are as follows

  • Peter Austin (University of London)
    Issues and challenges in language endangerment and heritage languages: some Australian examples
  • Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer (University of Hamburg)
    At the interface of heritage language learning and teacher education: motorways, short-cuts and no-go areas
  • Naomi Nagy (University of Toronto)
    Promoting linguistic and cultural diversity through Heritage Language Sociolinguistics
  • Jason Rothman (University of Tromso)
    Theoretical Epistemology and Methodology in Heritage Language Bilingualism

 How to register: To register, please consider the payment information available on the website and fill in the form available here.

For more information, please see the HLAW website or contact heritage.languages.conference@gmail.com.