By Abayomi Academy
📅 Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2025
🕧 Time: 12:30 PM (Miami – EST) | 1:30 PM (Brasília)
📲 Live on Instagram (in Portuguese):
@liegeleopoldo | @fraga_pat
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Families raising bilingual children in the U.S. face a beautiful challenge: how to preserve their native language and cultural identity in a foreign environment. This is exactly what we’ll explore in an upcoming Instagram Live with Patrícia Fraga, Executive Director of Abayomi Academy, and Liege Leopoldo, Brazilian author and educator.
The live conversation — held in Portuguese — is titled:
“Nossa Língua de Herança: Guardiões da Língua Portuguesa nos Estados Unidos”
(Our Heritage Language: Guardians of Portuguese in the U.S.)
Hosted by Liege as part of her ongoing series on heritage language, the event will focus on the importance of maintaining Portuguese as a heritage language and the benefits of bilingual education for children and adolescents.
The Power of Heritage Language Education
Language is a bridge between generations — it carries identity, emotion, and memory. For children living in multicultural settings, speaking the language of their family roots fosters a stronger sense of self, belonging, and connection to their heritage.
Heritage language education, especially Portuguese for Brazilian-American families, plays a critical role in preserving cultural traditions while supporting bilingual development.
The Neuroscience Behind Bilingualism
Research in applied neuroscience reveals that bilingual children enjoy a wide range of cognitive and emotional advantages. These benefits include:
✅ Improved cognitive development
✅ Greater mental flexibility and attention control
✅ Enhanced memory and creativity
✅ Deeper emotional regulation
✅ Lasting bonds with family and cultural identity
Bilingualism also fosters executive function, a key predictor of academic and personal success. These brain benefits begin early, making childhood the ideal time to invest in language education.
Meet the Speakers
👩🏫 Patrícia Fraga is a Brazilian architect, educator, writer, and mother of five. She holds a PhD in Architecture, with international experience across 14 countries, and additional studies in Education and Sustainable Urbanism. At Abayomi Academy, she leads the Babel Language program and developed the Abayomi Methodology for Smart and Happy Environments, uniting well-being, innovation, and educational purpose.
📚 Liege Leopoldo is a children’s book author, pedagogue, and historian passionate about storytelling. Her books — including “The Thrush Who Couldn’t Whistle” and “A Collection of Umbrellas” — are known for sparking imagination and preserving cultural depth. She believes that literature is the most powerful teaching tool for young learners.
Who Should Join This Live?
This Instagram Live is perfect for:
- Parents raising bilingual or multilingual children
- Educators working with heritage language learners
- Portuguese-speaking families living abroad
- Anyone interested in bilingual brain development and cultural identity
If you believe in the power of language to shape the future, this conversation is for you.
Why Choose the Babel Language Program?
After the live, we invite families and educators to learn more about our Babel Language initiative — a program created by Abayomi Academy to teach Portuguese as a heritage language to children and teens in the U.S. and international communities.
The program offers:
🌍 Portuguese language classes tailored to the needs of children outside Brazil
🧠 An approach based on neuroscience and emotional development
📚 Cultural content that strengthens identity and communication within families
💡 A safe, joyful, and purposeful learning environment
With Babel Language, children don’t just learn a second language — they build bridges between their present and their cultural past.
Join the conversation and be part of the movement to raise confident, connected, and bilingual children.
📅 Tuesday, May 27, 2025
🕧 12:30 PM (Miami – EST) | 1:30 PM (Brasília)
📲 Instagram Live (in Portuguese): @liegeleopoldo | @fraga_pat
Abayomi Academy — Where language, identity, and education come together.
🔗 Learn more about the Babel Language program here.
Key Words:
- Bilingual education for children in the U.S.
- Portuguese language classes for kids
- Heritage language learning
- Cognitive benefits of bilingualism
- Portuguese for Brazilian-American families
- Abayomi Academy language programs
- Neuroscience of bilingualism
- Multilingual child development
- Raising bilingual kids
- Language and identity in education
A visionary and dynamic professional, Dr. Fraga holds a PhD in Architecture and combines her passions for sustainable urbanism, education, technology, and promoting happiness. Architect and Urban Planner, PhD in Architecture and PhD/ABD in Education, with over 30 years of academic and professional experience. My work integrates smart cities, human-centered happiness, education, knowledge management, and emergency management and preparedness, connecting design, technology, and strategy to build intelligent, resilient, and sustainable environments. As a pioneer in Smart & Happy Cities, I develop frameworks that align urban planning, citizen engagement, and innovation to strengthen communities and enhance collective well-being. With expertise in AI-enhanced research, higher education development, curriculum design, and institutional planning, I contribute to more effective decision-making and future-ready organizations. I also provide consulting for institutions, professionals, and families seeking forward-thinking solutions in intelligent environments, educational innovation, resilience planning, and AI-integrated research — guided by the belief that we can only be fully happy in the collective.
