Portuguese as an Additional Language within the context of Exchange Programme for Undergraduate Students: a proposal for theoretical and pedagogical shift

Abstract

This article investigates the processes of curriculum development and enactment for Portuguese as an Additional Language (PAL) courses within the context of Exchange Programme for Undergraduate Students (PEC-G). Nine PAL programme co-ordinators and ten PAL instructors participated in personalised in-depth semi-structured interviews which were guided by the research question: what shapes curriculum within the context of PAL for PEC-G? The findings revealed that the examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese (Celpe-Bras) had been serving as guidelines for curriculum development and/or enactment within the context of PAL for PEC-G students. While critically acknowledging the contributions of communicative-driven and task-based approaches to the additional language education field, critical and intercultural pedagogies are introduced as an alternative for a theoretical and pedagogical shift within the PAL field – especially for the purposes of curriculum development and enactment.