We describe a confluence of historical, economic, pedagogical and subjective factors underlying the policy of teaching Brazilian Portuguese as an additional language in the academic context at an Egyptian university. This research is situated in the indisciplinary field of Applied Linguistics and it is characterized as a theoretical study informed by student writing and field observations. Considering the local cultural context, we show a theoretical guide for the elaboration of a critical pedagogical proposal aiming at a libertarian education. --- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22409/gragoata.2017n42a851