Portuguese Language Journal

I am happy to introduce, on behalf of the American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese (AOTP), Volume 20 of the Portuguese Language Journal (PLJ). This volume showcases the excellence of research and scholarship in the field of teaching and learning the Portuguese language. The articles in this edition reflect research conducted around the globe - such as South Korea, USA, Brazil, Portugal, and São Tomé e Príncipe – and educational settings ranging from K-12, higher education, and military academies, to immersion programs abroad. The essays display innovative, multifaceted practices and a diversity of methodologies, and their rigorous research and scholarly contributions are vital to the advancement of Portuguese language studies and the facilitation of meaningful academic exchange. The acceptance rate for this edition of the PLJ was 55.6%

I would like to thank our manuscript reviewers, whose dedication and expertise enhanced the quality of this volume’s submissions. Many thanks to the Board of Directors of AOTP, including my co-editor Luciane Maimone, for their invaluable teamwork. My deepest gratitude to AOTP’s president, Eugênia Fernandes, for her generous support.

Our volume opens with Melissa Rubio dos Santos’s discussion of the teaching and learning of Brazilian Portuguese in South Korea. The author analyzes the importance of creating teaching materials based on the guidelines of the Celpe-Bras exam, proposing activities based on the Celpe-Bras Exam's communicative ability for university students in South Korea.

Tania Ferreira and Susana Nunes analyze a didactic sequence based on a short story aimed at developing the reading comprehension and lexical competencies of European Portuguese as a foreign language for intermediate learners. Their research shows that the use of authentic literary texts combined with specific activities not only develops the linguistic competency of the learners but also critical thinking, creativity, and intercultural dialogue.

Cherice Montgomery, Rex Nielsen, and Lourdes M. Vieira investigate the impact of active learning methodologies in the context of teaching literature in a Portuguese as a foreign language university classroom in the United States. The authors demonstrate how these methodologies promote learner autonomy and engagement during the learning process and bridge the teaching of literature and language in Portuguese courses.

Ana Carolina Fontana explores the pedagogical, cultural, and institutional dimensions of teaching and learning Portuguese as a foreign language in the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras (AMAN), Brazil. The article showcases strategic pedagogical choices that promote the linguistic and cultural integration of the students into the military and academic life of the institution and strengthens diplomatic ties and international cooperation.

Ana Filipa Teles and Rosa Maria Sequeira explore cultural manifestations and their role in the construction of identity among the inhabitants of the Príncipe island. Through surveys carried out with teachers and educational administrators, the authors reveal that the teaching of literature texts about pre-Independence themes in K-12 has a fundamental role in the formation of national identity among the students.

Cristiane Soares and Marcia Mendes McLean examine an immersion program in Brazil which used the Social Justice Education approach and a Global South disciplinary lens prompting American university students to grasp contemporary social struggles in the country. Through the DIVE model, learners were able to describe, interpret, verify, and examine the subjects they studied. Their research shows that learners also considerably enhanced their Portuguese languages skills.

Monica Panigassi Vicentini describes the challenges of designing syllabi for Elementary Portuguese courses characterized by mixed-level classes in an American university. Her research discusses the incorporation of Project-Based Learning in these courses and concludes that this method has improved learners’ autonomy and language use in more authentic and pluricentric contexts and has been beneficial for mixed-level classes.

Raíssa Marques and Gladys Quevedo-Camargo investigate the teaching and learning of Brazilian Portuguese as an additional language for 11-year-old refugee children who attend public schools in Brazil. These learners need specific activities and assessments that are age-appropriate. Inspired by the Celpe-Bras exam and the BNCC (Base Nacional Comum Curricular), the authors propose a guide and a template of an evaluation criteria appropriate for this age group.

Viviane Marques Miranda and Ana Elvira Luciano Gebara discuss the experience of teaching Portuguese as a Second Language for the Deaf to eight graders in a Municipal Bilingual School for the Deaf in São Paulo, Brazil. They propose a sequence of activities that integrates reading, signed production (LIBRAS), contrastive linguistic analysis, and written text production based on a short story. They found that learners improved their reading comprehension, written production, and social participation.

Flavia de Oliveira Maia-Pires and Michelle Machado de Oliveira Vilarinho explore the role of dictionaries and children's glossaries as pedagogical tools in the teaching and learning of Portuguese as a Foreign/Second Language. They conclude that guided use of dictionaries can increase the linguistic repertoire of young learners, but this requires qualified mediation, practical application, and innovative approaches.

By bridging theory and innovative practice, these works burnish our journal and advance the field of teaching and learning the Portuguese language.

Vivian Flanzer
University of Texas at Austin
Editor