Portuguese complementary education in the United Kingdom

Abstract

one of the most visible manifestations of Portuguese language education in the United Kingdom, complementary schooling (Ensino Português no Estrangeiro) is the result of Portuguese immigration from the 1960s to the present day, magnified by the intake of Brazilian migrants in the 1990s and 2000s. Heritage language classes were a grassroots initiative of parents and immigrant associations with a strong component of language maintenance. Just before the 1974 democratic revolution in Portugal, the Portuguese government took over the organisation of classes but the development of the network as a support mechanism of migrant communities happened in the post-revolutionary period. At the turn of the 21st century, the provision of complementary classes had to adapt to new political and legislative discourses. Especially after the 2006-2009 period, when the classes came under the supervision of the Instituto Camões, Portuguese language was assigned a new role, that of an economic asset in a globalised world. Amongst the community, Portuguese language education became an investment in cultural and educational capital.