“Intercambio Virtual�; a Linguistic and Cultural Exchange between students from Portugal and the United States of America
By Charles Daniel Santos Department Chairperson to Social Studies and World Languages AP World History and American History Teacher Martin County High School
2801 S. Kanner Hwy. Stuart FL 34994 Phone: (772) 219-1800
Portugal and Personal Identity The Portuguese culture runs through my veins. I am the son of two proud Portuguese immigrants who came to America with dreams that were realized through their sons. Those dreams, as they have materialized, come to represent a 13 year career as a secondary level educator of history in the state of Florida in the United States. Certainly my career has flourished based on, modesty aside, my merits but also a linguistic treasure my parents bestowed upon me; they taught me the Portuguese language.
Celebrating 800 Years with a Trip to My Herança (Heritage) This year, the Portuguese celebrates 800 years of use, fluency and application. Millions of people throughout the world speak Portuguese as a result of Portugal’s maritime past. I would like to think that like the “heroes of the seas” who diffused the Portuguese language to the world, my parents, in a micro-chasmic way, continued the tradition started over 500 years ago.
Portuguese is in the top five list of widely spoken languages globally. Whether Portuguese immigrants in Paris France or Brazilians tourists in Walt Disney World, the Portuguese language is a widely heard and spoken language in all corners of the world; it truly is a “now” language!
This summer I had the marvelous opportunity to visit Portugal. I walked Lisbon and came within footsteps to the hospital that my father was born (in 1939). I drove to the north of Portugal, to the Minho region, where I stayed in the ancestral village of my maternal side, Laurentim. I visited the home that housed and nurtured five generations of my family, a home that both my mother and uncle were born in. Everywhere I went, I felt a connection to my past, walking through a history, my family’s history, my history.
truly an excellent opportunity to promote the Portuguese language! So what’s the concept? By utilizing the Skype medium, teachers and students would create a virtual exchange of learning; Portuguese and English languages would be diffused between the students.
In addition to a personal sense of exploration (of my past), I had the extraordinary privilege to visit several schools (both public and private) in Almada, Lisbon and Sintra municipalities. I was graciously welcomed, as a fellow educator, in these forward thinking and superb testaments to education. As I visited each school, I must confess that I had a motive in all these visits. To create a virtual “inter cambio” between my school and theirs. For me, the opportunity to celebrate and give back to my cultural past is not only rewarding but also an obligation.
Portuguese teachers would teach their lessons in Portuguese, to both their Portuguese (in class) and American (via Skype) students, and vice versa for the American teacher teaching English to both students. This exchange would achieve the diffusion of both languages but it would also expose Portuguese and American students to each other’s respective cultures, learning and teaching styles. This virtual exchange or “intercambio” could eventually materialize into person- to-person meetings; Portuguese students coming to Florida and American students going to Portugal.
The Educational Mission And it is with this belief in the obligation to recognize, celebrate and educate the Portuguese language beyond the Luso-phonic countries that motivated me to reach out to the Portuguese schools; it’s my mission. As I presented my concept of cultural/linguistic exchange to the various Portuguese teachers, directors and curriculum specialists, they all agreed that this would be a worthy cultural endeavor;
Lastly, the virtual “intercambio” would promote and prepare our students for the global village that awaits them. Our students will inherit a world that is more interconnected than ever. Where business transactions are done over video conference
and “cloud” servers. Our students have been “born” with phones in their hands. The digital natives must be taught how to utilize and harness the potential of these powerful tools of connection properly. Preparing
them and educating them on these new mediums of instruction is no longer a luxury but an obligation we 21st century educators have to our digital leaners.