Portuguese Language Learning Research Articles

Portuguese language learning and capital access: a study on university students in Macau

This paper reports on an inquiry into a group of students’ Portuguese language learning with a focus on their access to economic, social, and cultural capital. The inquiry problematizes the traditional uncritical assumption of a shared pursuit of linguistic competence among students. Drawing on individual in-depth interviews with 14 participants at a university in Macau, this article illustrates how local and mainland Chinese students related their Portuguese language learning to the acquisition of different forms of capital, respectively. Specifically, our analysis reveals that economic capital dominated in the local participants’ pursuits, with cultural and social capital being less influential, whereas among mainland Chinese participants the influence of economic capital was weak and unsustainable, with a balanced distribution of cultural and social capital. The findings also suggest that the participants’ family contexts and social networks shaped their pursuits of different forms of capital in Portuguese learning, implying that educational institutions and teachers need to reframe their learning resources and pedagogical strategies for Portuguese language learners in Macau, placing greater emphasis on reinforcing students’ social connections with Portuguese or local Macanese communities.

Social networking and cultural identity among language minority learners of Portuguese during study abroad

Abstract Research in intercultural communication studies has demonstrated that social networking (SN) can affect language minority learners’ cultural adaptation/identity process. Furthermore, internet usage preferences play an important role in the cultural adaptation of mobility groups. Drawing on these two lines of development, the current paper aims to further examine the role of SN in the home and host cultural adaptation/identity process of Chinese language-minority learners in Portugal. Through collecting and analyzing questionnaires focusing on three cultural identity dimensions, participants’ use of SN for academic purposes, and their cultural adaptation and language minority learning, we found that the affordances provided by SN contribute positively to enhancing both the host and the home cultural identity. Furthermore, the academic purpose of language use on SN indicated a positive relationship between the use of SN and cultural identity. The findings shed new light on factors that influence participants’ Portuguese language learning during study abroad.

Avaliação da aprendizagem na BNCC para linguagens e suas tecnologias: um estudo interpretativo

This study proposes a reflection on the assessment of Portuguese language learning in the Common National Curriculum Base (BNCC) for languages and their technologies in high school. To this end, a theoretical apparatus is drawn that involves the dialogical perspective of language, considerations on reflective teaching and school, as well as old and current views on assessment. In general terms, it was observed that the assessment of learning is present in the BNCC from other terms, such as critical analysis, guided decisions, understanding, values and social configurations, and that dialogical studies, especially with regard to the notion of otherness, indirectly integrate the concepts of language and evaluation of the document.

Gamifying Portuguese Language Learning: A Case Study Examining a Quest-Based Website to Prompt Oral Production and Interaction in Learners of Portuguese L2

ABSTRACT One of the major challenges when teaching second language learners is to maintain them motivated and eager to learn and work on the proposed activity. The literature showed that a combination of social constructivism and technology-integrated learning is crucial for achieving the goals set by modern educational objectives. However, in order to have a robust response from students, one should take into account the psychological aspect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. This paper proposes a gamified activity in Portuguese L2 that aims to intensify the students’ motivation. Ten undergraduate students participated in this study. Their responses show that novel studies based on awards and gamification can boost the students’ motivation when learning Portuguese.

From the speech to the linguistic system and back to the speech

Este texto pauta-se em reflexões sobre o ensino e o aprendizado de língua portuguesa, considerando os resultados de pesquisas, que tomam o discurso como principal objeto para o desenvolvimento das habilidades e competências necessárias a estudantes da educação básica. Os trabalhos apreciados têm como base teórica a filosofia dialógica da linguagem, postulada por Bakhtin e o seu Círculo, a partir da qual a linguagem é concebida como um objeto inseparável da interação entre os indivíduos. Esses estudos alcançaram seus resultados, seguindo procedimentos metodológicos de pesquisa in loco. Através de entrevista, a primeira das pesquisas apresentadas explicita o posicionamento de professoras sobre a pertinência do livro didático para o ensino e aprendizado e os caminhos que perfazem para oferecer a melhor formação possível. Os outros trabalhos, realizados no âmbito do mestrado profissional em Letras (PROFLETRAS – UNEB), promoveram atividades diagnósticas em turmas do ensino fundamental e desenvolveram sequências didáticas para intervenção pedagógica, sendo que uma das sequências contempla o estilo marcado por gírias, de forma a criar condições para uma utilização auto-monitorada da língua, enquanto o outro trabalho utiliza como corpus produções escritas por estudantes, implementando uma proposta didática para o aprendizado da pontuação, tendo em vista os enunciados discursivamente situados.

Do trabalho com gêneros de texto/discurso no ensino de língua materna: um percurso de continuidades, mudanças e possibilidades

Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar uma reflexão crítica acerca de nosso percurso como professores e formadores de professores de língua materna em relação ao trabalho com gêneros de texto/discurso em contexto escolar, mais especificamente, no ensino de língua portuguesa. Trata-se, pois, de uma (meta)análise sobre os desafios vivenciados no trabalho com gêneros de texto/discurso no percurso entre a formação (acadêmica) e a prática (de sala de aula). A reflexão sobre esse percurso tem como objetivo principal fazer um balanço sobre os esforços de pesquisa que vimos construindo nesse âmbito nos últimos 20 anos, os desafios enfrentados quando se faz pesquisa na interação com contextos escolares de ensino e de aprendizagem de língua materna, os fundamentos teórico-metodológicos por nós mobilizados para essa ação e, partir desse movimento, refletir sobre os desafios e perspectivas que hoje se desdobram como possibilidades de futuro.

Student Motivation in Learning Portuguese

Student Motivation in Learning Portuguese Orlando Kelm Keywords Brazil/Brasil, less-commonly taught languages/línguas menos comumente ensinadas, Portuguese/português, student-centered learning/aprendizagem centrada no aluno Response 2 to "Brazil's Rise and Portuguese as a Strategic Foreign Language: Preparing Tomorrow's Military Leaders" The Air Force Academy has decided to add Portuguese as one of its strategic foreign languages, this in part because of a number of pragmatic, political, economic and social reasons. (And this is despite the fact that Brazil is currently suffering through a serious economic recession, political corruption scandals and massive civil unrest.) For the rest of us, what is our motivation in building and sustaining programs in Portuguese? Notice that even this question shows a bias on perspective. Often in academic settings the stimulus for program development is teacher-centered or institution-focused. Rarely are learner needs or society demands the catalyst for program change. This is a delicate balance, which is no way minimizes the importance of the teachers, researchers or institutions. In the case of the Portuguese language, however, personal motivations that are learner-centered surpass all other reasons for learning the language. Learners of Portuguese by and large are self-motivated learners. To be honest, almost all learners of Portuguese ignore the typical promotional reasons that are given for learning Portuguese (e.g., seventh most spoken language, over 200 million speakers, former Portuguese colonies, etc.). None of these reasons is personal, and in learning Portuguese everything is personal. The following statements, typical of the types of reasons all teachers of Portuguese hear from students, illustrate why students want to learn: • I study botany and every summer I go to the Amazon to search for new species of plants. • As a geologist I'm currently learning to cut semiprecious stones. I hope to learn Portuguese to be able to buy stones when I go to Minas Gerais. • I play in a band and we've been learning forró. It's just awesome and it's given me the bug to learn Portuguese. • My mom is from São Paulo and I've always wanted to be able to talk to my relatives in Brazil. • My parents were missionaries in Brazil and I hope to return and do the same. • I am interested in alternative energy sources and Brazil is way ahead in sugarcane-based renewable energy. • How come Brazilian soccer stadiums are so run down? I want to go to Brazil to study the reasons. • I lived on the Peruvian border with Brazil. I'm amazed at how locals cross borders to take advantage of programs from both governments. [End Page 297] • Brazilian jiu jitsu is unique among martial arts. I'm catching on, but I want to learn from personal trainers in Rio. This list could go one with hundreds of additional entries. If we believe in a student-center approach to education, Portuguese language offers a gigantic opportunity. Our challenge is that it is difficult to create a program that centers on student needs and at the same time meets the perceived logistic and programmatic requirements that academic structures impose. Our reality is that tuitions, prerequisites, majors, credit hours, class size, grading restrictions, and a host of other factors diminish our effectiveness in meeting the needs of students, who already have specific goals associated with their Portuguese language learning. What does all this mean? It means that we need to personalize the teaching of Portuguese. Allow students from the very beginning to shape their language learning to fit their goals. It means that "language for specific purposes" applies to every learner. It means that traditional programs should give way to individualized objectives. Even without full restructuring, there are simple things that we can do to move from an institutional model of teaching Portuguese to a learner-centered approach. First, at every level and in every course, create a syllabus that has enough flexibility to include student-generated content. Authorize students to choose their own topics and readings, even their own vocabulary. Second, allow students to build this content on an individual basis. That is to say, accept that not everyone needs to read and study the exact same...

INCREASING THE ROLE OF LEARNING PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE FOR ESTABLISHING THE NATIONS CHARACTER OF TIMOR LESTE

The study outlined in this article aimed to describe the increasing the role of learning Portuguese for establishing the national character of Timor Leste. Portuguese language learning in Timor Leste needs to be developed seriously. The learning condition of the language still faces many problems, especially related to the material and the learning process. Therefore, the preparation of teaching materials that are truly functional and make it easier for students to learn the language needs to be developed. This needs to be done to make quality learning outcomes. Through quality Portuguese language learning, students will be able to gain understanding and appreciation of the language culture. Cultural insights will have an impact on the building of student character that is compatible with the culture of the nation of Timor Leste.

A PRODUÇÃO ESCRITA E O TRABALHO DOCENTE NA SALA DE APOIO

RESUMO Neste texto, aborda-se o processo de produção escrita do gênero textual Resposta na prática docente junto a alunos de Sala de Apoio à Aprendizagem de Língua Portuguesa (SAALP) – 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental, na região Centro-Sul do Estado do Paraná - Brasil. Fundamentando-se nos conceitos do Círculo de Bakhtin e nas contribuições da Linguística Aplicada, a respeito de leitura e produção escrita, buscou-se acompanhar e analisar a prática de um professor nesse contexto. A coleta de dados deu-se anterior e posteriormente a intervenções teórico-metodológicas de modo colaborativas com o docente, propiciando-lhe aportes teóricos e discussões orientadas a respeito dos processos de leitura e de escrita e suas implicações no ensino e na aprendizagem de língua materna. Os resultados apontam a necessidade de se fornecer ao professor de SAALP subsídios teórico-metodológicos a respeito dos processos envolvidos, bem como acompanhar e orientar a sua prática pedagógica no trabalho com a Resposta nesse contexto específico de ensino.

Aula de Língua Portuguesa - (re) descobrindo trajetos e desvios

Resumo:Este trabalho intenciona fornecer subsídios para uma discussão crítica e reflexiva sobre os processos de ensino aprendizagem de língua portuguesa, a partir de um reexame de iniciativas governamentais e produção teórico-acadêmica, que tiveram a pretensão de reestruturar as práticas e epistemologias dessa disciplina curricular. Propõe-se, assim, a subversão de alguns construtos que atuam no campo das práticas linguísticas e uma análise que exceda a língua e conjugue aspectos sócio-político-culturais nas experiências de professores/as e alunos/as em sala de aula.

O trabalho docente com a ortografia em Sala de Apoio à Aprendizagem

This paper discusses the teacher’s work with orthography in a Support Classroom for Portuguese Language Learning (SAAPL, in Portuguese) – 6th grade of basic schooling in the South-Central region of Parana State. It is assumed here that the practice with orthographic features in this educational context is essential for the student to overcome the difficulties related to the written language and, in this way, meet the conditions to participate more effectively in the language practices inherent to society. Thus, from the concepts offered by the historical-cultural educational theory and the Applied Linguistics contributions, the practice of a SAALP teacher was guided and assisted during the studies of orthographic conventions in classroom. The data gathering occurred after some theoretical and methodological interventions with the teacher in a collaborative way, providing theoretical support and guided discussions about the orthographic system and their teaching in Portuguese language classes. The results indicate the necessity to provide the SAAPL teacher with theoretical and methodological support in relation to the orthographic norms, as well as to supervise and guide his/ her practice during the work with this content in this particular context. Keywords: continuing teacher education, Support Classroom, orthography, collaborative action research.

Aproximações entre o funcionamento da Metodologia das Sequências Didáticas e o conceito de Zona de Desenvolvimento Proximal

The procedure “didactic sequence” was developed by the researchers from the Geneva Group affiliated with the Sociodiscursive Interactionism with the objective of creating a language teaching methodology that the students could learn language practices that are configured in textual genres. However, this expression has become popular in Brazil and has been frequently used in indiscrimate ways by teachers, researches, magazine editors etc. Given this scenario, it is of extreme relevance to promote the understanding of this methodological procedure so that it can be used in a coherent form and so as that the objectives targeted by their mentors can be attained, namely, the developmen tof languages capacities associated to the reading and production of a textual genre. Therefore, this paper, resulting from our PhD research, aims to present the gears that move this didactic tool from its theoretical perspective, the social interactionism of Vigotski, in this case, represented by the Zone of Proximal Development notion. To structure the paper, the proposed association is illustrated with data and discussions generated by field research, with a collaborative-interventionist characteristic, developed during the PhD research. Key words: Portuguese language learning, didactic sequence, zone of proximal development.