Affects and Belonging in Spanish Learning Among Elderly Women Within the Framework of an Extension Program

Abstract

This article presents a critical analysis of the teaching-learning process of Spanish as an additional language for elderly women in the context of the UNAMI ( Universidade Aberta da Melhor Idade) program, developed at the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The research, with a qualitative and critical-interpretive approach, is based on participant observation, reflective journals by the teacher-researcher, and reflexive records produced by her. The theoretical framework integrates contributions from educational gerontology (Uniscovsky; Lopes; Silva; Beauvoir), studies on affectivity and language (Ahmed), and decolonial approaches to university extension (Freire; Walsh). The learning experience emerges as a space of resistance to social invisibilization processes that often affect women in old age, allowing for the re-signification of personal trajectories and the reconfiguration of the sense of belonging to the university. The results show that learning Spanish activates affective memories, strengthens self-esteem, and fosters the creation of social support networks among participants. The foreign language becomes both an emotional and cognitive trigger, linked to the desire for knowledge and to the construction of new life projects. The students narrate experiences of overcoming fears, rebuilding social bonds, and expanding cultural horizons, framing the classroom as a space of affection, agency, and recognition. The article also highlights the transformative role of university extension as a practice of knowledge democratization and a break from traditional hierarchies of knowledge