Learning Portuguese in the Context of Climate Change and the Amazon

This chapter explores the impact of climate change on the learning of Portuguese, particularly on issues related to the preservation of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. Many of the Gen Z and Millennium students enrolled in Portuguese language classes are increasingly aware of the impact of climate change on their own lives and also on the lives of other people around the world, especially in communities of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Historically, BIPOC communities are the ones mostly affected by climate change. Data on the devastation of the Amazon shows that deforestation has ramped for several years in Brazil, with much of it attributed to changes in policies during the former Brazilian presidency (2019–2022). Furthermore, many Indigenous groups have had their lands invaded by illegal miners and have been the victims of violence and assassinations, as in the case of the Yanomami and Munduruku in Brazil. This chapter analyzes the significance of these issues, the Amazon and climate change in Portuguese language classes. It focuses on the geographical, historical, and political contexts, while proposing a teaching methodology that promotes awareness, cultivates one&s;s emotional intelligence, and empowerment. It also articulates the role of critical pedagogy and global citizenship in the teaching of Portuguese as an additional language. In regard to climate change and the Amazon, the severe impact on the rest of the world is undeniable and learning a language, such as Portuguese, ought to require learners, including language instructors, to educate themselves about environmental and human rights issues as they acquire knowledge about the language and its cultural, historical, and geopolitical contexts.

Amazon rainforest · Archaeology · Biology · Climate change · Context (archaeology) · Geography · Linguistics · Portuguese · Ecology · Environmental and Ecological Studies · Environmental Science · Geology · Oceanography · Philosophy