A Comprehensive Study Of Portuguese As A Foreign Language Textbook Instructions For Writing Activities—Preliminary Results

Joaquim Guerra

doi:10.37547/tajssei/volume03issue06-12

Abstract

The paper aims to present the preliminary results of an ongoing study related to the teaching and learning of writing competencies, through the analysis of writing practices promoted in six Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL) textbooks for young adults. There is no systematic research about their adequacy with regard to the latest methodological guidelines or the existing curricula. Therefore, the theoretical and methodological assumptions and the organization of content and learning practices present in the textbooks are, to some extent, unknown. Although research in Didactics highlights their role in the planning of educational action by teachers and their influence on teaching and learning practice in the classroom. Preliminary results show that there are relatively few writing activities in the textbooks, and that they are mostly guided by behaviorist choices (audiolingual and audiovisual methods).

Highlights

IntroductionConstructions, etc.); the teaching and learning of writing (the modeling process, the instruction model, resources, etc.); the assessment of writing (the role of the feedback from the teacher and/or peers, analytic rating or holistic approaches, etc.); and the use of technological tools for writing
Foreign language writing has always been a difficult area for foreign language teaching and learning, and a constant topic of research. Archibald (2004), Cumming (2001) Javadi-Safa (2018), and Zhang (2008) detail the recurrent topics of research involved in foreign or second language writing: the writing process; the writing context; the teaching and learning of writing; the assessment of writing; and the use of technological tools for writing
As mentioned before (Guerra, 2021), we examined the writing production activities from six Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL) textbooks and performed a descriptive content analysis of them in order to understand (i) if the writing activities are consistent with the descriptors of the syllabi; and (ii) what kind of writing activities are presented in the manual

Summary

Introduction

Constructions, etc.); the teaching and learning of writing (the modeling process, the instruction model, resources, etc.); the assessment of writing (the role of the feedback from the teacher and/or peers, analytic rating or holistic approaches, etc.); and the use of technological tools for writing. This list certainly does not cover all the research topics and aspects involved in the acquisition and development of writing competencies in a foreign language context, but they are representative of the research activity in this area and they all, directly or not, influence the instructional process. Teachers and students continued to use them (in digital format, PDF, or paper), highlighting the importance of textbooks in regulating teaching and learning practices

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Conclusion