ERIC Number: EJ1249328
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Mar
Pages: 11
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-2133
EISSN: N/A
On the Borders and Bridges of Portuguese Programs (Including Those with Spanish Programs)
Vasconcelos, Ricardo
Hispania, v103 n1 p3-13 Mar 2020
Portuguese is the fifth most-spoken language in the world, with about 260 million speakers (and growing to an expected 400 million by 2050), the third most spoken in the West, the most widely spoken in the Southern Hemisphere, an official language in 9 countries and other regions. It is present in Europe, South America, Africa, and parts of Asia. It is present in the United States, in sizeable communities, and in some regions quite evidently, due to the different waves of immigration. Portuguese is more commonly spoken in United States households than Japanese, for example. Ricardo Vasconcelos shares some thoughts not only with colleagues in his own field, but also with colleagues in Spanish--the field closest to Portuguese and that other side of linguistic, geographic, and political borders. There is no doubt that Spanish and Portuguese are the closest of the Romance languages of a national scale. At the same time, the history and the contemporary life of Hispanic and Lusophone societies bring these two societies together uniquely--even in their conflicts. Vasconcelos questions how language teachers can not take advantage of this linguistic proximity and these historical and social affinities, as they try to develop Spanish and Portuguese programs, and seek to offset enrollment losses. He shares seven specific suggestions regarding ways to bring the two languages together in a department of Spanish and Portuguese languages.
Descriptors: Portuguese, Spanish, Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, History, Program Development, Declining Enrollment, Departments, Language Teachers, College Faculty, College Second Language Programs, Educational Benefits, Educational Cooperation, Academic Degrees
American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Inc. 900 Ladd Road, Walled Lake, MI 48390. Tel: 248-960-2180; Fax: 248-960-9570; e-mail: AATSPoffice@aatsp.org; Web site: http://www.aatsp.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A