Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Award
3. Pedagogical Principles and objectives of the project
4. Methodology
5. Assessement
6. Materials produced by the research team
7. Conclusion
8. Bibliography
Appendix 1. The Virtual Gallery (paintings, sculptures and photos related to citizenship issues)
Appendix 2. Anthology of poems (in English, German and Portuguese) on citizenship
Appendix 3. Texts written by the students
Appendix 4. Lesson plans
Appendix 5. Links to other sites
Appendix 6. Papers and presentations


Keywords:

TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Teaching German as a Foreign Language, Teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language, Citizenship Education, Critical Pedagogy (as an influence), Intercultural Education, Pedagogy, Language Teaching, Task-based learning, Education through Art.

Introduction

“Languages, Art, Citizenship” ("Línguas, Arte, Cidadania") is the title of a project conceived and carried out in Portugal, the main aim of which consists in developing and assessing a didactic approach to foreign language teaching conceived by Portuguese teachers and researchers. The languages contemplated in this initiative are English, German and Portuguese (taught as a foreign language).
The project started to be carried out in the school year of 2002-2003 by three teachers who were then teaching at schools of the Algarve (South of Portugal): Alexandre Dias Pinto (of São Brás de Alportel Secondary School and Centre for Comparative Studies of the University of Lisbon – CEC), Carlota Miranda (of Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School) and Ana Cristina Correia (of Lagos Secondary School). Since literature and the other arts play a central role in this methodology, the Centre for Comparative Studies of the University of Lisbon participated in this initiative. Two other members join the team afterwards: Orlanda Azevedo (University of Berkeley and CEC) and Pedro Valente (Colégio São João de Brito and CEC).
The teaching method was systematically followed in the English classes of two groups of the 10th form of Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School and of two other groups of the 8th form of Lagos Secondary School. It was also put into practice in the tutorial classes (“aulas de Apoio Pedagógico Acrescido”) of Portuguese (taught as a foreign language) for students of the 11th form, as well as in the individual activities of regular classes, at São Brás de Alportel Secondary School. Finally, this teaching approach was used in the German classes of one group of the 11th form and another of the 12th form of Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School. All in all, ninety two students were involved in the first year.
The project proceeded in the school year of 2003-2004 at Amadora Secondary School with a group of students of Portuguese as a foreign language and in the English classes of two groups of the 10th form. It was also carried out in the English classes of two groups of the 8th form José Buísel Secondary School, in Portimão. One hundred and eight students were involved at this second stage of the initiative.
In 2004-2005 our teaching approach was carried out in English classes of Bom Sucesso Secondary School (7th and 8th forms) and of Luís Buísel Secondary School (8th form). In the present school year (2005-2006), our language teaching methodology was followed in English classes of the 7th and 9th forms of Agostinho da Silva Secondary School and of Luís Buísel Secondary School.

Award

In 2003 the project received the European Label for Innovative Projects in Language Teaching and Learning, a distinction awarded by the European Commission.

Pedagogical principles and objectives of the project

The idea of conceiving this teaching approach to language learning departed from our awareness that the pedagogical and the cultural potentiality of foreign language classes (in this case, English, German and Portuguese) was being underestimated by several textbooks and also by some teachers. If one reads the aims and pedagogical foundations advanced in the guidelines for language subjects settled by the Portuguese Ministry of Education, one will realise that language classes should play an active role in the education of young people as citizens. According to the general aims of the English syllabus (and I am referring to the aims that go beyond learning the language and that are mainly related to the personal development of the students), these classes should be a place where students are able to build up their personality, understand what it means to live in society and explore significant issues of the contemporary world. Let us read the introductory text to the English syllabus; there it is stated that:

A language is a potential space of expression of the Self, a space that facilitates the relationship between people and stimulates social interaction. As a determinant factor of socialization and of personal self-esteem, a language gives one that means to develop the consciousness of oneself and to understand the others, to translate attitudes and values, to have access to knowledge and to demonstrate one's skills and abilities. (translated from Programas de Inglês, 1997: 5)

What is said about English classes is assumed in the syllabus of other foreign languages. Still according to the same text, English language teachers are expected to help students achieve pedagogical aims such as:

.to combine the language competence with the student's personal and social development;
.to make multidisciplinary approaches possible;
.to promote the understanding and the respect for socially and culturally differentiated universes;
.to emphasise the social and the cultural dimension of language.
.to explore aspects of the Anglo-American culture, reflecting on the different patterns of life and social behaviour. (Translated from Programa de Inglês, 1997: 5-6)

One distinctive feature of the approach that is developed in this project lies in the articulation of pedagogical principles such as education for citizenship, human values and critical thinking with the use of art and literature in foreign language classes. This means that, despite the fact that learning the language is the main objective of these classes - and this fact must never be forgotten or underestimated -, they should play a more active role in the process of building up the personality of young people and of helping them to become responsible, critical citizens. The guidelines of the Ministry of Education stress the idea that the constructive practice of citizenship should be promoted in foreign language classes.
Bearing this in mind, our teaching approach is carried out with the use of motivating and culturally rich materials (literary texts, paintings, art photos and music), which enable the students to acquire a cultural, historical and social knowledge of the world they live in, in order to reflect on important issues of the present days, such as globalization, the power of the media, working conditions, the respect for the Other, tolerance and intolerance or consumerism. This means that in our project the education of students - i.e., the upbringing of conscientious, open-minded citizens - is as important as (and should be entwined with) learning facts and mastering language skills and grammar.
Thus, this project is informed by the theories and ideas of Education for Citizenship (Ichilov, 1998; Pearce and Hallgarten, 2000); but it is also influenced by the principles of Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Giroux, 1997). The main objective of the former is to help students become active, constructive members of society. Although it is not possible to teach young people how to become good citizens, it is possible to stimulate good social practices and to promote civic responsibility by inviting them to think what it means to live in a community, how important it is to defend our (and other people's) rights and respect our duties.
One may ask how citizenship can be a content of foreign language classes. In this project different issues related to this theme are introduced in class and articulated with the work on language skills and on grammar contents. Thus, students read literary texts (along with non-literary texts), analyse paintings and discuss social and civic issues in the language they are learning. A more detailed account of these activities will be presented further on.
On the other hand, the present teaching approach is influenced by the ideas of Critical Pedagogy, although the role played by this education theory is not as central as that played by Education for Citizenship. The emphasis that Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux and other advocats of Critical Pedagogy place on the development of the students' critical awareness and social consciousness in the learning process is an important principle that guides our work. We also follow the "critical pedagogues" in defending the need to discuss and reflect on the social issues, as a means to allow students to build their personal worldview. We believe that this is a path that will enable them to develop an informed, critical perspective of reality and to understand and be sensitive to the problems of those who surround them. Thus, this is a way of promoting the spirit of solidarity and tolerance among students and the belief that they can contribute to build a better world.
Intercultural Education (Woodrow, 1997; Miranda, 2004) also plays a central role in this approach. In our foreign language classes students studied the way of life and cultural patterns of their society and then compared it to cultural patterns and customs of other societies and civilizations. The purpose was not only to understand different ways of living and of seeing the world, but also to develop an attitude of cultural relativism and tolerance.
We are now prepared to sum up the main aims of this project, which are:

.to improve the students' ability to use the English language, by mastering the four language skills and understanding how the language works;
.to contribute to the development of the students' personality;
.to promote values such as tolerance, justice, solidarity and respect towards the Other;
.to develop the students' critical consciousness concerning issues of the contemporary world (racism, social injustice, consumerism, the power of the media, etc.);
.to expand the students' cultural knowledge;
.to promote the students' interest in art in its different forms of expression: literature, painting, sculpture, photography, music, etc.

Methodology

It is now the moment to give an account of the methodology that is being followed in the teaching approach developed in this project.

In order to achieve the aims and objectives that were previously defined, historical, cultural and social contents were explored in foreign language classes. As it was said before, in this didactic approach the arts play an important role in the learning process since they are a means used in the expansion of the students' cultural knowledge and in the development of their critical consciousness. We do not claim that the use of art (literature, painting, sculpture, music, etc.) in foreign language classes is an absolutely new idea. Interesting suggestions and examples may be found in several essays and textbooks - cf. Cranmer, 1995; Collie and Ladousse, 1991; Paula, Sousa and Lourinho, 1995. However, in this project literary texts, reproductions of paintings and art photos and music are explored in class with three main purposes: to enhance the students' ability to think critically about the problems of our time, to expand their cultural knowledge and to promote their aesthetic sensitivity.

As far as the methodological background is concerned, our didactic approach hinges on the language teaching method know as task-based learning (cf. Nunan, 1989; Skehan, 1996). As a learncenteredred, communicative approach, it is best suited to achieve the aims that were previously advanced. Students are expected to play an active role in the process and are encouraged to explore, analyse and to find the solutions to the problems (both linguistic and social problems) that they are faced with. Furthermore, the concept of task brings the sense of purpose to the learning sequence. When students produce posters or leaflets, write a letter to a given institution, start a blog on the Internet or a wall newspaper at school, they are building up the idea that they can play an active part in society and that their initiative is a contribution to change the world. As an example, a task may consist of writing a letter to UNICEF, reporting the existence of famine in a specific region of the planet and asking this organisation to take measures in order to fight the problem.

One of the difficulties that teachers have been trying to tackle for the past decades is motivation. Every teacher has searched for the best strategies and activities to captivate the interest of his/her students. We advocate the use of art in language classes because well-selected literary texts and reproductions of paintings, sculptures or art photos may have a strong motivating effect among students. Experience has taught us that a painting such as Salvador Dali­'s The Persistence of Memory, with its mysterious, enigmatic and even bizarre features, is more challenging and thought-provoking than any common photo of a mall, a posh house or a sports car that we find in magazines or in advertisement. In class, the latter are bonfires that extinguish rather quickly. Furthermore, art certainly has a wider educational value.

Thus, in this teaching approach we were able to articulate contents of Education for Citizenship and the arts at the service of foreign language learning. When students are interpreting works of art and discussing social issues, they are also developing their language skills and expanding their knowledge of the structure of the idiom. It is now time to explain how our approach was put into practice at different stages of the learning sequence and to present concrete examples of activities that have been carried out in English, German and Portuguese classes.

As it was said before, literature, visual art and music perform a central function in different activities of the language classes. Still, the teachers involved in the project must be very selective when choosing the appropriate teaching materials, which have to be both motivating and thought-provoking in order to challenge students to respond to them, that is, to analyse and provide interpretations to poems, paintings, sculptures (etc.) as well as to establish associations between them and the world we live in. On the other hand, such materials must be appropriate to the level of the students in question.

Carefully selected poems and excerpts from fiction and drama were used in reading-comprehension activities, for they explore a wider range of registers and meanings as well as a wide variety of contemporary issues. For instance, William Blake's "The chimney sweeper" was analysed in an English class about working conditions; and, to give an example of an activity of a class of Portuguese for foreign students, Sophia de Mello Breyner's poem "Porque" ("Because") was integrated in a learning sequence on social injustice. However, this does not mean that non-literary texts are excluded from the approach that we are describing; in fact, informative texts, newspaper and magazine articles, advertisement texts, letters, dialogues (etc.) were a regular presence in class. But literary texts were often used as a way to help students develop their ability to understand what they read and as a way to introduce discussions on citizenship issues. The authors of the project produced a tape with readings of poems in English, German and Portuguese studied in class, so that it could be used in listening-comprehension activities. Poems by Maya Angelou, Auden, Langston Hughes, Derek Mahon, Brecht, Dehmel, Heine, António Gedeão, Régio and Torga were included in this tape.
Then, musical pieces were played in class in lead-in activities in order to introduce the theme of the learning sequence or as a starting point to a writing activity. In cases when music is accompanied by a text, it was used in a listening-comprehension activity. Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Benjamin Britten's opera The Little Sweep served this purpose beautifully in English classes, whereas, to give an example of popular culture in class, Rammstein's song "Ich will" was explored with the same purpose in German classes.
On the other hand, reproductions of paintings, sculptures and photos were used at different moments of language lessons. In pre-reading activities, both the vocabulary and the main issues of a text were introduced with the help of a painting, which was afterwards analysed and interpreted: as an example, Picasso's Guernica was used to introduce vocabulary related to war and its dramatic consequences. It goes without saying that works of visual arts were explored at different stages of a learning sequence as a starting point for students' oral practice, whether as class work, group work or pair work. For example, in an English class, the students gathered in pairs to interpret Jacob Epstein's The Rock Drill with the help of a questions advanced by the teacher. Afterwards, they discussed possible interpretations of the sculpture in class work.
Reproductions of paintings, sculptures and art photos were also explored in the less-controlled practice of a grammar structure that was previously taught and drilled, in order to consolidate that knowledge. Finally, works of visual art were used as a starting point to write narrative, descriptive and argumentative texts. Thus, students produced interesting texts about issues like racism, social injustice, the power of the media, based on paintings, sculptures and photos. Nam June Paik's Buddha TV inspired the students to write about the impact of the media on contemporary life.
Teachers will realize that it is not always easy to find the image they want in art books. Nevertheless, the Internet is a rich database with good reproductions of paintings or photos. It is neither difficult nor illegal to print the intended image on a transparency in order to show it in class or to record it in a disk and use a datashow to display it.

Assessment

The project was assessed in two different moments: at the end of the school years of 2002/2003 and 2003/2004. In order to evaluate this initiative aptly, we must analyse results that came out of it on three different levels. Firstly, it was with immense satisfaction that we saw that students showed high levels of motivation when working with literature and visual arts. The demanding selection of intriguing, thought-provoking paintings, art photos, poems and narrative texts determined this success.

As far as the academic results were concerned, they were not homogeneous. In most cases they were good or average. However, for the sake of truth, we should credit this success to the influence of methodologies such as task-based learning and the communicative approach in the teaching approach followed in this project.

Finally, teachers concluded that students gradually developed a positive attitude and an acute sensitivity towards citizenship issues dealt with in class. They also developed their ability to think critically. These conclusions were withdrawn from the positions and attitudes assumed by students both in the discussions carried out in classes and in the texts produced by them.

Materials produced in the project

Since this project required its own teaching materials, several resources were produced in order to enable the teachers to put this didactic approach into practice. Thus, an anthology of poems (in English, German and Portuguese) on citizenship was organised and an audiotape with the readings of eighteen poems was produced. A new version of this anthology will be published this year (2006) under the title Our Duty to Speak: Anthology of Poems on Citizenship. However, it will only include compositions written in Portuguese by Brazilian, African, Timorisian and Portuguese authors. The Camões Institute will fund part of the edition.

The reproductions of paintings, sculptures, photos and other works of visual arts that were used in class were downloaded from the Internet and collected in a CD-ROM, which we entitled The Virtual Gallery. In this CD one may find works of artists such as Goya, Van Gogh, Tina Mondotti, Louise Bourgeois, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman. Finally, a book with the description of the project and with other information was prepared in 2003. Many of the worksheets, texts and documents used in class are collected there.

Conclusion

To conclude : several teachers believe that schools should play a more active role in the process of helping young people become responsible, open-minded citizens. The syllabi of language subjects even stress that the students’ critical consciousness and sense of citizenship should be promoted in these classes. Thus, the didactic approach conceived by the authors of this project is an attempt to articulate successfully the teaching of a foreign language with the pedagogical aims of foreign language subjects defined by the Ministry of Education.

A final word to say that the project has not ended. Due to the encouraging results that were obtained, the teaching approach developed in the previous school year is being followed again this year. This is a way of trying to improve several aspects of the approach, which may even be applied to other language classes.

APPENDIX ONE: The Virtual Gallery

Taking into account that the teaching approach that we advance here requires the use of visual artworks, the teachers and reasearchers involved in this project collected from the Internet electronic reproductions of paintings, sculptures and photos that were explored in foreign language classes. The collection of visual artworks that deal with citizenship issues was given the name of Virtual Gallery (Galeria Virtual) and was recorded in a CD-ROM. The following list identifies some of the paintings and sculptures that may be found in the Virtual Gallery:

1. The shootings of May 3rd 1808, Goya
2. The hands of the puppeteer, Tina Mondotti
3. Buddha TV, Nam June Paik
4. The Rock Drill, Jacob Epstein
5. Guernica, Pablo Picasso
6. The potatoe eaters, Van Gogh
7. Three studies for ‘Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’ (1944), Francis Bacon
8. Painting (1946), Francis Bacon
9. Maman, Louise Bourgeois
10. Possession, Victor Burgin

APPENDIX TWO: Anthology of poems on citizenship

This anthology of poems includes poems in English, German and Portuguese that deal with citizenship issues. The teachers and researchers involved in the project collected poetical compositions that coud be used (and were used) in foreign language classes. If the theme of the poems (citizenship) was one of the criteria that guided the editors of this anthology in their choice, other criteria were followed. Firstly, we selected poetic compositions that were not very demanding (neither from the linguistic nor from the hermeneutic point of view) to students of the pre-intermediate and intermediate levels; secondly, the poems the were chosen are able to motivate students in the learning process. The following list includes the compositions that were in the original volume of the Anthology of poems on citizenship.

1. POEMS IN ENGLISH

“If”, Rudyard Kipling

“I, too, sing America”, Langston Hughes

“Ku Klux”, Langston Hughes

“Meditatio”, Ezra Pound

“Lizard”, D.H. Lawrence

“Social Security”, Terence Winch

“These yet to be United States”, Maya Angelou

“The Snow Party”, Derek Mahon

“Little Johnny's Final Letter”, Brian Patten

“Wishes of an Elderly Man”, Sir Walter Raleigh

“The Chimney Sweeper”, William Blake

“The Bridge”, Fiona Pitt-Kethley

2. POEMS IN GERMAN

“Der Arbeitsmann”, Richard Dehmel

“Ich liebe Frauen”, Hermann Hesse

“Die Bücherverbrennung”, Bertolt Brecht

“Die Lösung”, Bertolt Brecht

“Von der Freundlichkeit der Welt”, Bertolt Brecht

“Lesebuchgeschichten”, Wolfgang Borchert

“Mondnacht”, Joseph von Eichendorff

“Sechsjähriger”, Reiner Kunze

“Ich will”, Rammstein

3. POEMS IN PORTUGUESE

“Cântico negro, José Régio

“Voz activa”, Miguel Torga

“Trova do vento que passa”, Manuel Alegre

“Retrato de uma princesa desconhecida”, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen

“Porque”, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen

“Queixa das almas jovens censuradas”, Natália Correia

“Calçada de Carriche”, António Gedeão

“Eles foram lá”, José Craveirinha

“Carta a meus filhos sobre os fuzilamentos de Goya”, Jorge de Sena

“Meninos carvoeiros”, Manuel Bandeira

“Oh! Liberdade!”, Xanana Gusmão

“Pedra Filosofal”, António Gedeão

“O Portugal futuro”, Ruy Belo

“Ah! Como te invejo”, José Gomes Ferreira

“Sísifo”, Miguel Torga

“Eu, Etiqueta”, Carlos Drummond de Andrade

“Urgentemente”, Eugénio de Andrade

“Pastelaria”, Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos

“Ao desconcerto do Mundo”, Luís de Camões

“Contra as molheres”, Jorge d'Aguiar

“Lágrima de Preta”, António Gedeão

APPENDIX THREE: Texts written by students (examples)

In this section, we include texts written by students who took part in the project. As one may see in these texts, the language learning process was harmoniously articulated with the study of foreign cultures and with the critical thinking about citizenship issues. The texts in Portuguese were written by foreign students who had been living in Portugal for more than four years.

1. Texts written in English

1.1. Women's Rights

It is me who has to decide about my future!
The Al Saud (an Arab family) are having a great argument about Sara's future. Mohatma, the chief of the family, agreed with Haden Hossin, an old man who already had three wives, that Sara, his beautiful daughter, would marry him. But Sara doesn't agree with her father's decision, not only because she doesn't like this man, but also because she has a boyfriend whose name is Hadnav Henalat.
Sara: Father, I hate that man! You cannot do this to me!Father: Shut up, Sara, I'm your father and I know what is best for you. You have to marry Haden Hossin.
Sara: But, Father…
Father: Sara, he has a great house, lots of money, and he is a VIP! What more do you want? You will be a happy girl.
Sara: No, I won't marry him. I want to marry Hadnav. You won't decide my future for me! I have my own rights!
Patrícia Salvador, Célia Paz e Ana Cristina – Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 10th form

1.2. Homelessness

To work or not to work: that is the question
Some people say that the homeless do not work because they do not want to. People say that because when they were young, they themselves had the opportunity to complete their education. Since their parents had enough money to support them, they could afford going to school and university.
On the other hand, most of the homeless did not have that opportunity. Nowadays, people can only work if they finish school. From my point of view, this is very unfair because everybody needs a job to survive.
Célia Paz – Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 10th form

Work and Homelessness
From my point of view, in today's booming economy it is easy to get a job; the problem is that some homeless people simply do not want to work. On the other hand, that does not happen with all of them. When we talk about homelessness, we talk about living apart from society and having difficulties. Whenever the homeless try to get a job, they are rejected, just because they are homeless. No one gives them a job. Would you? I believe that, in part, today's booming economy itself is responsible for this situation.
Juliana Silvestre – Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 10th form

1.3. Humanitarian Organisations

Working for UNICEF
In the first place, I must say I love children.I would like to join UNICEF and go to Africa to help children in need. Many of these children have problems: they are poor and hungry, some of them do not have a family, some have physical disabilities. They really need our help. Besides, if I went to Africa as a volunteer, it would be a great way of gaining maturity and responsibility. I would feel and act like an adult, I would be an independent and self-sufficient person.I would like to teach the children how to read and write, I would play and sing with them. I know that I would have to work hard, but it would be worthwhile. Don't you agree with me?
Joana Rodrigues, Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 10th form

1.4. Freedom
Freedom is...… flying without wings.… thinking and saying whatever you want.… doing what comes to your mind.… flying higher than birds, swimming deeper than fish, dreaming with the whole universe without anyone telling you to stop.… having opportunity of choice, of decision, of expression, of thought.… beautiful.
Jorge Mendes, Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 10th form

1.5. Family

Family Problems
Kate: Father, have you got a minute? I have to talk to you… It's a serious matter.
Father: Of course, my dear. What's the matter? You look strange… What's the problem?
Kate: Well, you know, I'm 19 and… I'd like to tell you that… I have a boyfriend and we intend to get married.
Father: What?! That's impossible! You're joking, aren't you?
Kate: Actually, I'm not… I'm in love, father, and he is so good to me.
Father: Who is he? What does he do?
Kate: His name is Mathew. His family… well, actually he doesn't have a family. Helives in a children's home. He studies at my school.
Father: It's out of the question! No way!
Kate: Father, I love Mathew and I'm going to marry him, no matter what you think!
Célia Silva, Joana Rodrigues – Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 10th form

2. Texts written in German

2.1. Bürgerinitiativen

Sehr geehrter Bürgermeister:

Ich scheibe diesen Brief wegen der Verschmutzung unserer Stadt. Es gibt Müll auf der Strasse, die Luft stinkt und das Wasser ist nicht rein. Die Kinder können weder auf der Strasse noch am Strand spielen. Die Leute sind traurig und empört, und ich schreibe im Namen der Bürger. Wir kämpfen gegen die Umweltverschmutzung. Wir können und sollen etwas für die Stadt tun, aber Sie müssen helfen. Das Rathaus muss auch etwas tun.

Mit herzlichen Grüssen

Pedro Bandarra

Pedro Bandarra – Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 11th form.

Sehr geehrter Minister:

Wir scheiben diesen Brief, weil die Umweltverschmutzung in unserer Stadt den Leuten stört. Die Bürger sind mit der Müllabfuhr nicht zufrieden. Es gibt Müll überall. Auberdem wirft die Fabrik gefährliche Chemikalien in die Luft und ins Wasser. Unsere Stadt braucht reines Wasser, reine Luft und Grünanlage. Vielen Dank.

Mit herzlichen Grüssen

Tatiana Botequilha und João Nunes
(Vila Real de Santo António Secondary School, 11th form.)

3. Texts written in Portuguese

3.1 Parodiando um soneto barroco

PRAGAS SE CHORAR MAIS POR UMA DAMA CRUEL

Não sossegue eu mais que um bonifrate,
De urina sobre mim se vase um pote,
As galas que eu vestir sejam picote,
Com sede me dêem água em açafate,

Se jogar o xadrez, me dêem mate,
E jogando às trezentas, um capote,
Faltem-me consoantes para um mote,
E sem o ser me tenham por orate,

Os licores que beba sejam mornos,
Os manjares que coma sejam frios,
Não passeie mais rua que a dos fornos,

E para minhas chagas faltem fios,
Na cabeça por plumas traga cornos,
Se os meus olhos por ti mais forem rios.

D. Tomás de Noronha, Fénix Renascida, V

Se desta vez conseguir passar o ano…

Eu fazia tudo p'ra passar o ano:
Até pintava a cara de alcatrão,
Pintava mesmo as escadas com a mão,
Limpava a minha cara com um pano,

Estudava eu as matérias todas,
Até aprendia bem a matemática,
E, claro, não deixava a informática,
Incluso eu comprava as novas modas,

Até me casaria com a escola,
Como o Director de Turma dizia,
Juntava todo o cérebro com uma cola;

P'ra não ter esta tristeza na vida,
Todas estas coisas eu fazia
Se desta vez vez conseguir passar o ano.
Maaike de Rijte – José Belchior Viegas Secondary School, 11th form

Promessas

Eu dava vinte seis voltas ao mundo,
Mergulhava no mar até ao fundo,
Escrevia dez testes de seguida,
Mesmo se fossem de Ciência da Vida.

Fazia um seminário sobre arte,
E nunca mais comia chocolate,
Lia o Eça de Queirós quatro vezes,
Não via televisão durante meses.

Todo o tempo passo a pensar nele;
Por isso eu fazia do seu nome
Uma tatuagem na minha pele.

Comprava-lhe flores, um grande ramo,
Simplesmente fazia quase tudo
Se ele me amasse como eu o amo.

Laura Anna Genné – José Belchior Viegas Secondary School, 11th form

3.2. Reflectindo sobre o texto de Antero de Quental, Causas da Decadência dos Povos Peninsulares

Causas da Prosperidade dos Povos Desenvolvidos e da Decadência de Portugal nos Dias de Hoje

Existem países no mundo que estão bastante desenvolvidos, económica e tecnologicamente. Entre os países desenvolvidos estão os Estados Unidos, o Japão, a França e a Inglaterra, onde se regista uma grande produtividade e uma prosperidade económica assinalável. Os Estados Unidos, por exemplo, são um dos maiores países produtores de bens. O Japão é também um país com uma elevada produtividade. Marcas como a Yamaha e a Mitsubishi, entre outras, são proveniente do Japão. Os países que têm uma grande indústria exportam para outros países os seus produtos, onde estes são bastante apreciados e populares. É desta maneira que os Estados Unidos se tornaram no país mais poderoso do mundo.

Portugal não tem uma indústria desenvolvida nem é muito reconhecido no mundo. Mas também não precisa de ser um país geograficamente grande para ser desenvolvido, precisa de ter uma indústria produtiva. O Japão, não sendo, geograficamente, um dos maiores países do mundo, é um dos mais desenvolvidos. Os seus produtos estão espalhados pelo mundo inteiro. A sua tecnologia é utilizada no dia-a-dia das pessoas. Marcas como a Nintendo têm uma enorme influência na economia do país.Portugal, pelo contrário, não tem grandes marcas que sejam reconhecidas e comercializadas mundialmente. As soluções para Portugal se tornar num país mais desenvolvido passam por investir e expandir a indústria, como que já era dito no texto de Antero. Deve também incentivar-se os cientistas portugueses a não trabalharem no estrangeiro. Muitos dos cientistas que trabalham nos Estados Unidos são provenientes de Portugal e de outros países europeus. Se os cientistas portugueses se dedicassem à investigação trabalhando na sua pátria, os outros países reconheceriam mais o valor de Portugal. Além disso, estariam a contribuir para desenvolver a indústria nacional.Por outro lado, é também necessário apostar em negócios competitivos. Os investimentos no estrangeiro podem e devem trazer uma grande prosperidade para Portugal. A competitividade do comércio e dos serviços português pode levar a melhorar o nível de desenvolvimento do país. Deviam os portugueses aprender com o exemplo inglês, onde a competitividade entre seguradoras, bancos, clínicas, etc. leva os empresários a oferecerem melhores produtos e serviços aos seus clientes e a criarem melhores condições para atrair mais clientes.

Estes factores – indústria, investigação científica e competitividade –, se forem bem conduzidos, terão um grande impacto no desenvolvimento de Portugal. A meu ver, é nos problemas que encontramos nestes domínios que estão algumas das causas da decadência de Portugal nos dias de hoje. Antero de Quental, há quase cento e cinquenta anos, já tinha compreendido algumas dessas causas.

Ross Kelly, José Belchior Viegas Secondary School, 11th form

APPENDIX FOUR: Lesson plans

English lesson plan on generation gap prepared by Alexandre Dias Pinto e Carlota Miranda.

(More lesson plans will be posts in the future.)

APPENDIX FIVE: Links

Centre for Comparative Studies of the University of Lisbon

European Union - Education

APP – Portuguese Language Teachers Association

Camões Institute

Centro Virtual Camões - Learn Portuguese online and know more about the Portuguese culture (English version; Portuguese version)

ELT news

EduFind

APPI - Portuguese Association of English Language Teachers

APEG – Portuguese Association for German Studies

APPENDIX SIX: Papers, studies and presentations related to the project

a) Papers published in academic journals and on the Internet
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias e Carlota Miranda Dias Pinto, “What a tangled web we should weave: Teaching English, promoting critical awareness and using art in EFL classes”, in Developing Teacher, http://www.developingteachers.com/articles_tchtraining/%20artpf_alexcarlota.htm, April 2003.
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias, “Com as Línguas e a Arte a caminho da Cidadania: Notícia de um projecto didáctico”in A Página da Educação, February, 2004. [Newspaper article]
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias e Carlota Miranda, “Culture and Citizenship in Foreign Language Classes” in The APPI Journal, Spring [The Journal of the Portuguese Association of English Language Teachers], 2004.
- Miranda, Carlota, “Com as Línguas e a Arte a caminho da Cidadania: Fundamentos e Metodologia de um Projecto Didáctico”, in Alameda. Revista de Educação, Artes e Ciências, No 1, Lisbon, Instituto Superior de Educação e Ciências, 2004.
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias, Carlota Miranda, Orlanda Azevedo and Pedro Valente, O Nosso Dever Falar: Antologia do Poemas em torno da Cidadania, Lisboa, Santillana, [to be published in 2006]. (The book is financed by the Lusitania Programme, which was created by the Camões Institute, FCT and GRICES.)
- Línguas, Arte e Cidadania, http://linguascidadania.blogspot.com/, published in March 2006. [This is the Portuguese version of this site.]

b) Papers presented in academic meetings (issues related to the project)
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias and Carlota Miranda, “The project ‘Together with the Languages and the Arts towads Citizenship’”, Agência Nacional Sócrates e Leonardo, November 2003.
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias and Carlota Miranda, “Cidadania e Interculturalidade no Ensino do Português como Língua Estrangeira”, 3rd Annual Meeting of Portuguese Taught as a Foreign Language, APP, Lisbon, Higher School of Education of Lisbon, March 2004.
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias, “Enhancing Citizenship and Critical Awareness in Language Classes”, 2nd International ‘Language – Communication – Culture’, Beja, Higher School of Education of Beja, 2004.
- Valente, Pedro and Alexandre Dias Pinto, "Aprendizagem do português e culturas lusófonas pela mão da poesia", 4th Annual Meeting of Portuguese Taught as a Foreign Language, APP, Lisbon, Higher School of Education of Lisbon, March 2006.

c) Unpublished teaching materials produced by team members
- Com as Línguas e a Arte a caminho da Cidadania, S. Brás de Alportel, José Belchior Viegas Secondary School, 2003. [Volume with the description of the project “Together with the Languages and the Arts towads Citizenship”, with lesson plans and activities.]
- Antologia de poemas sobre cidadania, S. Brás de Alportel, José Belchior Viegas Secondary School, 2003. [Volume with a collection of sixty poems in English, German and Portuguese on citizenship.]
- Selecção de poemas sobre cidadania, Audiotape, S. Brás de Alportel, José Belchior Viegas Secondary School, 2003. [Audio recording of 15 poems of the anthology, prepared to be used in listening activities.]
- Virtual Gallery, CD-ROM, S. Brás de Alportel, José Belchior Viegas Secondary School, 2003. [Collection of the reproductions of the paintings, sculptures and other visual atworks used in language classes.]
- Pinto, Alexandre Dias, Carlota Miranda, Orlanda Azevedo and Pedro Valente, O Nosso Dever Falar: Antologia do Poemas em torno da Cidadania, CD-ROM, Lisbon, Centre for Comparative Studies of the University of Lisbon, 2005. [CD version of the anthology mentioned above.]

This space has been left blank to be used in the future

This space has been left blank to be used in the future