The acceptance of non-European varieties in the teaching of Portuguese: reality and perceptions in five schools in São Miguel

Abstract

As a result of the recent increase in migratory flows that have Portugal as their destination, Portuguese schools now have to deal with the reality of having a considerable number of foreign students in the classroom, including a significant number of students coming from countries that have Portuguese as their official language. If, on the one hand, communication with them is easier due to linguistic affinity, on the other hand, their presence in Portuguese schools has changed little or nothing in terms of the prevailing linguistic variety in the Portuguese education system, which continues to be exclusively the European one. In this paper, which follows a qualitative methodology, with content analysis of interviews, we reveal the perceptions of teachers from five schools in São Miguel (Azores) regarding non-European Portuguese linguistic varieties and their possible acceptance in teaching and exams carried out in Portugal, as well as how they act in situations in which they have native speakers of non-European Portuguese varieties in their classes. Most of the teachers we interviewed considered the subject to be pertinent and up-to-date, and were in favor of accepting the different varieties and adopting pedagogical practices for integrating students who speak them while pointing to difficulties arising mainly from the lack of training and guidance on the didactic and assessment issues.