Since its inception in 1994, PSP has evolved into a vibrant and wide-ranging program that works on various fronts to promote advanced scholarship on Portugal, foster collaboration between Portuguese and American researchers, spotlight the experiences and contributions of the Portuguese-American Community and improve the UC educational experience for students of Portuguese heritage. The program serves as a node for interdisciplinary research activities on Portuguese language and culture, and a home/liaison unit for students of Portuguese heritage in California, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. Comprehensive information about the program may be found here.
Following the federal designation of Portuguese as a language of national priority, the NRC commits funding to selected programs within PSP, which meet the Absolute, Competitive and Invitational priorities established by the Department of Education. These include teacher training activities; intensive outreach and recruitment for students of Portuguese heritage in California; scholarships for students in the Portuguese community; and linkages with educational and research institutions in Portugal.
Annual Portuguese Language Teacher Training Conference
The Annual Portuguese Language Teacher Training Conference is the only training conference in California for teachers of Portuguese. Its goal is the development of Lusophone-based cultural materials to support and expand language acquisition at varied levels of instruction. Coordinated yearly with the Luso-American Education Foundation, it addresses teachers of K-14 Portuguese and Spanish heritage speakers and Portuguese as a second language with presentations and workshops at every level of instruction delivered by professionals from public schools, universities, non-profit organizations and the Portuguese embassy. The 2011 conference was held on March 25th and 26th in Tulare, California. Title VI funds supported a two-hour workshop on the second day entitled “California’s World Language Content Standards: Overview and Strategies for Classroom Application.” It introduced participants to the World Language Content Standards newly approved by the California State Board of Education, and assisted them in developing strategies for adapting them to existing curricula. 23 teachers from schools throughout California participated in this workshop.
Outreach to High Schools with large concentrations of Portuguese Students
Executive Director of PSP Deolinda Adao travels three times a year to regional high schools where Portuguese is taught, to introduce the University of California, the PSP program, and the general experience of college education to students of Portuguese heritage; and encourage students to apply to the UC system. This outreach to communities is complemented by a yearly Portuguese Youth Day held each spring at UC Berkeley, which typically draws between 100 and 200 students from high schools in Northern and Central California. It combines tours of the campus; visits to departments; presentations by figures in the local community, who played roles in Portuguese history; and a rally and student performances on Sproul Plaza. Title VI funds provide travel assistance to students. To read about the 2011 Portuguese Youth Day click here.
Scholarships
The NRC contributes Title VI funding to PSP’s Pinto-Fialon fellowship fund and to the PSP student Research/Language Study awards. These grants support student travel to Portugal and the Azores for research leading to a degree, and for attendance at language and language/culture institute summer programs. Each year PSP awards approximately 65 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students of Portuguese descent to attend UC Berkeley. For information on PSP’s scholarship programs click here
In 2010-11 PSP awarded scholarships to 51 students for sums ranging from $4,000.00 to $18,000.00.
Summer Abroad in Portugal – Intensive immersion in the language and culture of Portugal
Each summer PSP holds a seven and a half week long immersion program in Portugal led by Executive Director Deolinda Adao and faculty from participating Portuguese institutions, including University of the Azores, Politecnico of Castelo Branco, University of Porto, and University Lusofona in Lisbon. The program comprises equal components of language, literature, and culture, and is conducted primarily in Portuguese, with a few exceptions for very beginning students. Students undergo intensive classroom study on residence at each of the institutions above, and augment these studies with travel throughout the country along a route that begins in the archipelago of the Azores and continues to mainland Portugal.
The program is conducted jointly with California State University San Jose, and attracts an average of twenty-eight student participants each year. It meets foreign language and culture requirements at both Universities and provides students with a total of six semester units which they can apply toward both a major and minor.
PSP linkages with institutions in Portugal
The PSP has scholar and research exchange agreements with several institutions in Portugal and throughout the Luso-Phone world:
University of Coimbra, Portugal
University of Porto, Portugal
University of the Azores, Potural
Universidade Lusofona, Portugal
University of Lisbon, Portugal
Associçãao para a Instrução dos Macaenses (APIM), Macau, China
Instituto Internacional de Macau (IIM), Macau, China
Portuguese Airforce Academy, Portugal
University of Minho, Portugal
University of Macau, Macau, China
