PhD Dissertation Defense by Isadora Teles de Oliveira Gouveia (Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies & Theory)

Monday, November 16, 2026 at 10:00am to 12:00pm

Virtual
Glaucia V Silva
508-999-8271
gsilva@umassd.edu
https://umassd.zoom.us/j/93180403696?pwd=OUFtbzU4aHkyditab21xMEtUclcrQT09

Advisor: Gláucia Silva

Committee Members: Antonio Ladeira, Viktor Mendes

Abstract: Diasporic movements create complex tensions between cultural memory and assimilation, compelling immigrant families to make crucial decisions regarding heritage language (HL) maintenance. This dissertation presents a comparative case study examining how majority contact language environments shape Portuguese as a Heritage Language (PHL) retention, language policies, and bilingual identity across two transnational sites: Southeastern Massachusetts (an English-dominant context) and Central Italy (an Italian-dominant context). Grounded in sociolinguistic and heritage language acquisition frameworks, the study examines child heritage speaker populations through the perspectives of two pillars of heritage language acquisition: parents/guardians and language instructors. Using qualitative questionnaires and semi-structured interviews analyzed sequentially through thematic coding, the research examines how dominant languages influence HL maintenance decisions, what formal and informal strategies are used at home and in classrooms, and what learning needs participants identify. Rather than remaining purely theoretical, the empirical findings will directly inform the final chapter: an open-access, evidence-based teaching unit tailored to the linguistic and affective realities of heritage learners. Incorporating established guidelines from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020) and Portugal’s Quadro de Referência para o Ensino de Português no Estrangeiro (QuaREPE, 2012), this deliverable addresses a critical gap in the field, the absence of major open-access PHL textbooks, and serves as the cornerstone for a long-term research agenda focused on developing accessible, culturally sustaining heritage language curricula.