São Paulo – Professor Bianca Graziela Souza Gomes da Silva, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), arrived last weekend at the Egyptian city of Aswan to start her post-doctorate project and teach Portuguese. The study topic of the Brazilian is Portuguese teaching for Arabic speakers and she recognized in a public notice by Aswan University looking for teachers of the language an opportunity to do her field research and to develop a partnership with the Egyptian institution.
The classes for graduates of the Language and Translation Department began this Monday (28th) and are linked to the Portuguese Department of the university. “This department is the first of its kind in the Arab world. We knew of several free Portuguese courses in the Arab countries and we have, at UFRJ, for instance, the teaching of Portuguese for foreigners. But now it`s about training and qualifying Portuguese language professionals in Egypt. It`s the first Portuguese language graduation course in the Arab world”, she says.
Bianca was one of the associate professors of UFRJ`s professor João Batista Vargens in the writing of the book “Portuguese for Arabic Speakers”, released in 2007. “Were decisive factors the experience with professor João Batista and the fact that the professors from Aswan knew our book, which is about a Portuguese method for speakers of Arabic”, Bianca told ANBA about her selection. According to her, one of the goals for her experience in Aswan is to expand the method of the book in order for it to be used in graduate courses in Portuguese for Arabic speakers like the one being taught in Egypt.
The professor from Rio de Janeiro will live in Egypt until June of next year. After that, other students that will graduate in the Portuguese-Arabic course of the Department of Arab Studies of UFRJ will replace her. Bianca is still linked to the teaching institution in Rio as a tenured professor, but is on leave due to the internship. The project will be overseen and mentored by professor Vargens and by the Egyptian Maged El Gebaly, who coordinates the Portuguese Language Department at Aswan University.
The professor expects the initiative to bring the culture of the two countries closer without an intermediate language, with Brazilians speaking Arabic and Arabs speaking Portuguese. “It is the role of the academy to promote this cultural exchange. This research will start now and will include many students interested in both languages. When Portuguese teaching spreads throughout Egypt and Arabic teaching does the same in Brazil as a result of this exchange, that will attest to the success of this project”, said Bianca, pointing out the importance of the encouragement of her advisors Gebaly and Vargens.
The department with which Bianca is associated uses a pedagogical project based on the libertarian perspective of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. For the teaching, methods and guidebooks of Portuguese for foreigners are adapted according to the needs of the groups. The focus is on Brazilian Portuguese, but some of materials used focus on the language in general. According to Bianca, the professors develop an intercultural methodology that takes into account the similarities and differences between Brazil and Egypt. “With the teaching being done in a tourist city in Egypt, didactics always come together with field activities at spots that attract Brazilian tourists,” she says.
This is the Rio de Janeiro professor’s first time in Egypt. “I am really enjoying it”, says the professor, who, before heading to Aswan, stayed for a few days in Cairo. She says she was welcomed very warmly, even before leaving Brazil, by Egyptian diplomats, and then in Egypt by ambassador Ruy Amaral and professors of the university. “The Egyptian people I met so far have not spared smiles and cordiality. The first hours were great and they turned even brighter after a visit to the pyramids. It`s great being in Egypt”, says Bianca.
Now 37 years old, the post-doctorate professor entered UFRJ when she was 19 years old in the Portuguese-Arabic course at the Language School. She soon felt that she was in the right place and never stopped dedicating herself to the language since then. “I studied really hard because I liked the language and based on the understanding that I needed to create a professional path in this field”, she says. After graduating, Bianca was encouraged by Vargens to specialize in Portuguese and Arabic contrastive studies, which led to the book “Portuguese for Arabic speakers”.
Bianca also earned master’s and doctorate degrees in Portuguese and taught Arabic courses and private classes. She was a substitute professor in the Arab Studies Department of the UFRJ and later, after passing the examination, she became a tenured professor in the university. “My interest in this culture arose as soon as I entered the Portuguese-Arabic course. I can say that I have a new interest: that Egyptians and Arabs in general can get to know the Brazilian culture through the Portuguese language so that Brazil and Egypt can count on these future professors to forge closer ties”, she says.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
