Giuseppe Formato

Education

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Post-Doctoral Research, ISCTE–Lisbon University Institute (2020–2022)
PhD in Educational Studies, Lesley University (2018)
MA in Applied Linguistics: Foreign Language Pedagogy, University of Massachusetts Boston (2013)
BA in Italian Studies, magna cum laude, University of Massachusetts Boston (2011)

 

Academic Appointments

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Senior Lecturer, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA (2015–2024)
Italian and Portuguese language, cinema, and cultural studies. Developed new courses including Italian Cinema and Portuguese for the Professions. Directed undergraduate independent studies and honors projects. Established an international Memorandum of Understanding with the Camões Institute (Lisbon), securing funding to expand Portuguese language and culture programming.

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Italian Instructor, Middlesex Community College, Bedford, MA (2015)

 

Research Affiliations & Honors

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Associated Researcher, CIES–ISCTE Lisbon University Institute (2021–Present)

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Research Consultant, ExPORT Project: Estado Novo Cultural Diplomacy in the United States (2025–Present)
Collaboration with Brown University (Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies), the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives (UMass Dartmouth), and international partners. Research focuses on cultural diplomacy, soft power, and Luso-American relations between 1933 and 1974.

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Post-Doctoral Fellowship, ISCTE Lisbon University Institute (2020–2021)

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Research Fellow, Portuguese World Language Institute, Lesley University (2015–2018)

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Visiting Researcher, ISCTE & NOVA University Lisbon (2021)

 

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

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2025 — Heritage language as identity: Perspectives from the Azorean-American diaspora in New England.                        Análise Social, 60(255).
 

2022 — Portuguese language tensions and contradictions in diasporic contexts. Trabalhos em Linguística                       Aplicada, 61(3).
 

2021 — The Shift to a Queer Pedagogy in the Italian-Language Classroom. Journal of Language and Cultural                Education, 9(1).
 

2020 — Eco-Justice Pedagogy all’italiana. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(12).
 

2020 — Arte Povera as a Tool in Critical Italian-Language Pedagogy. International Journal of Linguistics,                      12(4).
 

2018 — Instilling Critical Pedagogy in the Italian Language Classroom. Journal of Language Teaching and                      Research, 9(6).
 

2018 — How Language Variety and Motivation Impact Language Acquisition in Adult Heritage Learners of                          Portuguese. European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 3(3)

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Book Chapters

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2025 — Atlantic Legacies, Urban Realities: Examining Santa Maria Island Migratory Histories and Diasporic                     Identities in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. In One Atlantic, Many Perspectives: Valuing                     Diversity in the Age of Competition. Letras Lavadas.
 

2024 — Azorean-American Resilience in Camberville: A Visual Approach to a Vernacular Landscape in a                           Gentrified Neighborhood. In The Everydayness of Cities in Transition. Palgrave Macmillan.
 

2020 — Quando a variante é o que importa. In Emigração em Português. Almedina.
 

Interview

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2021 — “A mesma língua, muitas histórias: entrevista com Giuseppe Formato.” OEm Conversations With,                          Observatório da Emigração, CIES–ISCTE.
 

Poetry

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2025 — Entre bruma e mistérios: Poems of the First Island and Beyond.  Published in Gávea-Brown: A                             Bilingual Journal of Portuguese-North American Letters and Studies (Brown University).
 

International Opinion & Public Scholarship

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Contributor to O Baluarte de Santa Maria (Azores, 2022–Present), publishing essays on heritage language, pedagogy, Azorean diaspora, cultural memory, and identity.

 

International & National Conference Presentations

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2025

• 11th Conference on Pluricentric Languages and their Non-Dominant Varieties, ISCTE–Lisbon

• Portuguese World Language Teacher Conference, Massachusetts

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2024

• Saab Center for Portuguese Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• LPAZ Forum International Conference, Santa Maria, Azores

• Association for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies Annual Conference, University of Lisbon

• Heritage Languages Around the World 2, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Portuguese Language Teacher Conference
   

2023

• North of Boston: The Portuguese American Experience Beyond the Hub, University of Massachusetts Lowell
   

2022

• UNICAMP, Brazil

• Symposium on Language Pedagogy in Higher Education (University of Illinois & Ohio University)

• XI World Meeting on Teaching Portuguese (Harvard University)

• ISCTE–Lisbon University Institute

• University of Coimbra
   

2021

• ISCTE–Lisbon University Institute
   

2018–2017 (Selected Venues)

• Leibniz-Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (Berlin)

• Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon)

• University of Tennessee

• University of Ottawa

• University of Cincinnati

• Hofstra University

• University of Kentuck
   

Research Grants & Fellowships

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• FLAD Portuguese Archive Research Grant (2024)

• PALCUS NextGen Leadership Academy Fellowship (2022–2023)

• Camões Institute Fellowship, Fernão Mendes Pinto Program (2017–2020)

• Lesley University Research Presentation Grant

• Lesley University Education Summit Grant Award

• Lesley University Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Fund Grant

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Awards & Honors

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• Teacher of the Year, American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese (2025)

• Joseph Moore Award for Dedication to the Profession, Lesley University (2024)

• Teacher Spotlight Recognition, Somerville High School (2022)

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Secondary Education

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World Language Teacher, Somerville High School (2013–2014; 2022–Present)
Italian and Portuguese (Levels 1–4), Portuguese for Spanish Speakers, Literacy for Portuguese Speakers. Standards-based curriculum aligned with ACTFL proficiency frameworks.

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Italian Teacher, Malden High School (2021–2022)

 

Additional Professional Experience

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Portuguese Instructor, Cambridge Center of Adult Education
Italian Instructor, Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts
Italian and Portuguese Tutor (2006–Present)
Interpreter, Lemaître Vascular (2011)

 

Professional Associations

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• American Association of Teachers of Italian

• American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese

• American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese

• Associação dos Emigrantes Açorianos

• Center for Portuguese Language–Instituto Camões (UMass Boston)

• Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States

• Massachusetts Foreign Language Association

 

Languages​

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• English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

• German (Goethe-Zertifikat B1)

• French (reading proficiency)