‘Portuguese Gives You Wings’ is the name of an award created by Canada’s York University to highlight the top-achieving student in the school’s Elementary Portuguese class.
Besides the joy of winning, the student will also be offered a trip to the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, courtesy of the award’s sponsor SATA – Azores Airlines.
“This prize aims to promote the Portuguese language and show people that it really does give you wings and that it can be learned at our university,” professor Inês Cardoso told Lusa news agency.
As she explained, the trip to the Azores will allow the top-performing student to practice Portuguese in a 100% Portuguese environment.
The Portuguese and Luso-Brazilian Studies programme was created at York University in 2008. It boasts 100 students – 25 of which are part of the Elementary Portuguese class.
“There are more non-Portuguese students in this course. Many of them wish to learn the language and the country’s roots, while others want to travel and work in Portuguese-speaking countries or communities in Canada,” the professor explained.
