Timor-Leste debates the present and future of the Portuguese language

The present and future of the Portuguese language in Timor-Leste and the processes of both learning and teaching are the core aspects of the 3rd Pedagogical Conference of the Portuguese Language Center taking place on Thursday and Friday in Dili.

Domingas Bachita, of the organizing committee, explained that the third edition of the meeting is entirely organized by students of the Portuguese Language Department of the National University of Timor Lorosa’e (UNTL) under the coordination of teachers of the Center of Portuguese Language of the institution.

“Throughout the two days of work, students from different departments and colleges and guests from various areas related to Education and the Portuguese Language in Timor-Leste will share knowledge and experiences in these Days, whose theme is” Present and Future of Portuguese in Timor-Leste, “explains Bachita in a note sent to Lusa.

The conference program includes thematic panels on Didactics, Linguistics and Literature and Culture, as well as roundtables on Portuguese “as an element of cultural identity and as a vehicle for transmitting knowledge, personal and professional advantages of mastering the Portuguese language and role of mother tongues in Timor-Leste, “he said.

Promoted by the Portuguese Language Center of UNTL, the seminars take place at the end of the week in the Auditorium of the School of Education Arts and Humanities of that educational center.

Participants include the UNTL’s rector, Francisco Martins, the Timor-Leste national commissioner at the International Institute of the Portuguese Language (IILP), Crisódio Araújo, the ambassador Domingos Sousa and the journalist Max Stahl.

Students’ motivation to learn reading in the Portuguese classroom, the importance of pre-reading in the comprehension of the Portuguese text and “advantages and disadvantages of using the Portuguese textbook” are some of the topics under analysis.

“Personal and professional advantages of mastering the Portuguese language”, traditional Timorese legends, the role of mother tongues in Timor-Leste and Portuguese as a vehicle for transmitting knowledge are also among the topics to be discussed.

The closure will be in charge of Benjamim Corte-Real Araújo, director of the Portuguese Language Center of UNTL and the National Institute of Linguistics.