The director of the P.PORTO Centre for Pedagogical Innovation, Mário Cruz, participated between 10 and 15 November in the 12th Meeting and 8th Congress of Portuguese Language Teachers in Venezuela, one of the main training and cooperation events dedicated to the teaching of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PLE) in the country, promoted by the Portuguese Embassy and the Camões Institute in Venezuela.
With the theme ‘The Diversity of the Portuguese Language’, the congress brought together about 150 teachers from across the country and, in this edition, counted on the official participation of the Brazilian Embassy and the Guimarães Rosa Institute.
This initiative, which is considered one of the most important in Latin America dedicated to the teaching of Portuguese as a foreign language, took place in Caracas and Maracay, involving activities at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), the Libertador Experimental Pedagogical University (UPEL) and the Santo Tomás de Aquino College in Caracas.
In recent years, interest in Portuguese has been growing not only among people of Portuguese descent, but also among Venezuelans with no previous family connection to the language, in line with the expansion of educational projects and training initiatives.
During the meeting, Mário Cruz conducted training sessions, addressing topics such as the experiential communicative approach, critical hyperpedagogy of discourse, the pan-Lusophone model of Portuguese language teaching, and the didactics of gamification.
During the meeting, Mário Cruz led training sessions, addressing topics such as the experiential communicative approach, critical (hyper)pedagogy of discourse, the pan-Lusophone model of Portuguese language teaching, and gamification in teaching.
With a simultaneously practical and reflective approach, the work developed during the 12th Meeting and 8th Congress actively sought to inspire innovation in the teaching of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PLE).
The focus was on new pedagogical approaches that integrate the diverse linguistic and cultural varieties of Portuguese, with a view to developing pan-Lusophone competence in students, explained the director of CIP-P.PORTO.
In his presentation, the director of CIP at P.PORTO also addressed the role of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PLE).
This approach is in line with CIP P.PORTO's mission to promote technological and pedagogical innovation, equipping teachers with the latest tools and strategies to help them face the new challenges of the digital age.
The 12th Meeting and 8th Congress of Portuguese Language Teachers in Venezuela was supported by the Portuguese Embassy, the Brazilian Embassy, Camões I. P., Instituto Guimarães Rosa, CEPE Venezuela, Correio da Venezuela, Hotel Meliá Caracas, Colégio Santo Tomás de Aquino, Central University of Venezuela, Libertador Experimental Pedagogical University, Portuguese Language Centres of Caracas, Maracay and Mérida, and the Venezuelan Association for the Teaching of Portuguese (AVELP).
Mário Cruz highlighted the motivation of the participants and stressed the importance of strengthening international collaboration networks, promoting innovative and up-to-date teaching practices for teaching Portuguese as a foreign language.