By Cortney Winston
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. –– Learning a second language doesn’t come easy to everyone. Especially when that language is not popular in the area you’re studying in and there aren’t many native, or even second language speakers.
While Portuguese is the 6th most spoken language worldwide, Northwest Arkansas is one of those areas that lack native speakers. This is why the Fulbright College has programs that bring ambassadors from countries where the national language is, in this case, Portuguese, to the University of Arkansas with the purpose of organizing language tables.
Igor Freitas is one of those ambassadors. Coming from Brazil, he is now in Fayetteville organizing events such as Bate-papo, or the Portuguese Conversation Table.
The space is designed to be outside of the classroom setting. Students can come with as much or as little knowledge as they have. Although the goal is to speak entirely in Portuguese, those who need help are offered it in a more personal environment.
Edvan Brito, the head of the Portuguese Program, says the event is meant to feel open.
“We want this space to be for students to feel safe and comfortable to use whatever they know about Portuguese, and practice it, and prove their knowledge of the language in that way,” said Brito.
For now, the number of attendees is small, but Brito said the hope is to get the Portuguese speaking community together. Learning not only new sentences or vocabulary, those who show sit down at the Portuguese Conversation Table gain connections to people with the same interest as them.
“If you know two sentences, we are here to teach you another so you can feel good, and use Portuguese as soon as possible,” said Brito.
The Portuguese Conversation Tables takes place Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in the World Language Center of J.B. Hunt.