GRAMMAR and COMMUNICATION IN PORTUGUESE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE A Study in the Context of Teletandem Interactions

This paper presents a study about the role of grammar in on-line interactions conducted in Portuguese and in English, between Brazilian and English-speaking interactants, with the aim of teaching Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL). The interactions occurred by means of chat and the MSN Messenger, and generated audio and video data for language analysis. Grammar is dealt with from two perspectives, an inductive and a deductive approach, so as to investigate the relevance of systematization of grammar rules in the process of learning PFL in teletandem interactions.

Reading strategies - from L1 to L2.

This paper intends to present a selection of the most useful reading strategies for the typical ESP students in Brazilian universities, showing whether the readers use them in their native language or not, the way the teacher should develop these strategies in the classroom, the problems involved in their use and the reasons for using them.

The interlanguage development in the spanish learning as foreign language in Teletandem under the View of the Complexity Theory

This article presents, under the perspective of Complexity Theory, the characteristics of the learning process of Spanish as a foreign language in Teletandem. Data were collected from two pairs of Portuguese-Spanish interagents, who were engaged in a systematic and regular interaction, based on the tandem principles. It was found that the learning experience is developed with the peculiarities that arise from the context, agents, members and their nuances, which revealed the presence of a shallow space between the systems of native and foreign languages.

Competences in the classroom in the perspectives of foreign language teachers

In this article we raise some considerations about teachers’ competences, from the perspective of teachers in the Brazilian public sector. The theoretical framework includes articles by Paulo Freire (2001), Philippe Perrenoud (2012), Edgar Morin (2003) and Maurice Tardif (2002) and, based on these authors, we reflect upon issues concerning teachers’ competences taking answers provided by the Brazilian language teachers as a departing point. In a teachers’ course, followed by the same teachers, we posed the main question in our study: Which competences are necessary for a teacher to be considered a good professional at present? From the answers given individually and group discussions we proceeded to a comparative analysis with the adopted framework, and other issues concerning teachers’ competences were considered as well. All the participants mentioned the same two competences, the use of technology and sound knowledge of the course content, and other competences were pointed out by the various teachers as well. Such procedure, besides providing data for our study, also helped as a self-reflexive activity for the teachers involved, about their own professional performance. Given the issues raised in the theoretical texts and the answers provided by the teachers, we expect to revisit the competences necessary for foreign language teacher efficient performance.

English collocations extracted from a corpus of university learners and its contribution to a language teaching pedagogy

Taking into consideration the relevance of foreign language teaching and the learning of collocations (ALTENBERG; EEG-OLOFSSON, 1990; FONTENELLE, 1994; MEUNIER; GRANGER, 2008), this paper aims at showing results of an investigation on whether the teaching of collocations should be implicit or explicit to the Brazilian university students. Furthermore, the research has the purpose of presenting some collocational aspects from a corpus of the written language learners made up of intermediate, upper intermediate and advanced university students' argumentative essays at a public university in Brazil. With the help of WordSmith Tools (SCOTT, 2007), it was possible to raise students' most frequent collocational choices and patterns, the most/least used type of collocations, the influence of the mother tongue on their choices, among other aspects. With the purpose of motivating and involving students in classroom research, it was also introduced The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), created by Mark Davies. By doing so, students could compare their collocational choices with the patterns found in the online corpus, extract more collocational patterns and, consequently, be aware of the potential of corpora for the foreign learning process, specifically for raising language awareness, with focus on prefabricated chunks.

Towards criterion validity in classroom language analysis: methodological constraints of metadiscourse and inter-rater agreement

This paper reports on a process to validate a revised version of a system for coding classroom discourse in foreign language lessons, a context in which the dual role of language (as content and means of communication) and the speakers' specific pedagogical aims lead to a certain degree of ambiguity in language analysis. The language used by teachers and students has been extensively studied, and a framework of concepts concerning classroom discourse well-established. Models for coding classroom language need, however, to be revised when they are applied to specific research contexts. The application and revision of an initial framework can lead to the development of earlier models, and to the re-definition of previously established categories of analysis that have to be validated. The procedures followed to validate a coding system are related here as guidelines for conducting research under similar circumstances. The advantages of using instruments that incorporate two types of data, that is, quantitative measures and qualitative information from raters' metadiscourse, are discussed, and it is suggested that such procedure can contribute to the process of validation itself, towards attaining reliability of research results, as well as indicate some constraints of the adopted research methodology.

La interculturalidad en la enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera en la pasantía de la práctica profesional

In the contemporary literature on Foreign Language Teaching (LE/L2), is evidence of a trend in education given priority from the sub-focus on socio-cultural competence (HYMES, 1972), mainly with the aim of developing the intercultural competence, that is, the power to know the differences between the culture of the new language and the language in concrete situations and to develop strategies to deal comprehensively with the customs of another culture (Rozenfeld & Vianna, 2011). This process seeks to bring people to a critical analysis of their own language and culture, the concept of otherness and the similarities and differences between nations (MOTTA ROTH, 2003). Under the didactic-pedagogical approach multiculturalism, there is the need to develop new educational proposals and to include studies and researches about this subject in the curricula of teacher education courses. Politically, the proposals of the "Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCNs)" in Brazil emphasize as targets to be established for the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language (ELE), on average, target content and teaching strategies to develop, in addition to communicative competence, competition also "inter (multi) culture" (BRASIL, 2000). Thus, this paper analyzes the reports of pre-service teachers in the course of Teaching Practice of Spanish Language, the presence of cultural and intercultural approach, verifying didactic-pedagogical treatment that is being expressed in projects and materialized in practices of ELE classroom, in the interior of São Paulo / Brazil.

La interculturalidad en la enseñanza de español como lengua extranjera en la pasantía

In the contemporary literature on Foreign Language Teaching (LE/L2), is evidence of a trend in education given priority from the sub-focus on socio-cultural competence (HYMES, 1972), mainly with the aim of developing the intercultural competence, that is, the power to know the differences between the culture of the new language and the language in concrete situations and to develop strategies to deal comprehensively with the customs of another culture (Rozenfeld & Vianna, 2011). This process seeks to bring people to a critical analysis of their own language and culture, the concept of otherness and the similarities and differences between nations (MOTTA ROTH, 2003). Under the didactic-pedagogical approach multiculturalism, there is the need to develop new educational proposals and to include studies and researches about this subject in the curricula of teacher education courses. Politically, the proposals of the "Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCNs)" in Brazil emphasize as targets to be established for the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language (ELE), on average, target content and teaching strategies to develop, in addition to communicative competence, competition also "inter (multi) culture" (BRASIL, 2000). Thus, this paper analyzes the reports of pre-service teachers in the course of Teaching Practice of Spanish Language, the presence of cultural and intercultural approach, verifying didactic-pedagogical treatment that is being expressed in projects and materialized in practices of ELE classroom, in the interior of São Paulo / Brazil.

Collaborative language learning in Teletandem: a resource for pre-service teacher education

This article presents some of the results of a qualitative research project about the influences of the pedagogic strategies used by a mediator (graduate student in applied linguistics) in the supervision process of a Teletandem partner (undergraduate student in languages) on her pedagogical practice. It was done within the project Teletandem Brazil: foreign language for all. Based on the reflective teaching paradigm and collaborative language learning, with special emphasis on tandem learning, we analyzed the contributions of the collaborative relationship established between the graduate student and the student-teacher in her first teaching experience. The results bring about implications for the field of language teacher education in a perspective of education within practice, evidencing the experience of collaborative learning in teletandem as an opportunity for reflective teacher education of pre-service teachers.

Relação poder-saber e formas de resistência em documentos educacionais governamentais sobre ensino de língua estrangeira

Considerando o discurso político-educacional como meio de manifestação de poder, este artigo tem como objetivo propor reflexões acerca da relação poder-saber em documentos educacionais de diferentes esferas governamentais, nos quais se apresentam eventuais formas de resistência. Para verificar como se dá essa relação, serão analisadas as Orientações Curriculares para o Ensino Médio: Linguagens, Códigos e suas Tecnologias, documento elaborado pela Secretaria de Educação Básica (SEB) e a Proposta Curricular do Estado de São Paulo: Língua Estrangeira Moderna - Inglês, da Secretaria da Educação de São Paulo (SEE), publicadas em 2006 e 2008, respectivamente. Para tanto, o arcabouço teórico será embasado em conceitos sobre a relação poder-saber, formas de resistência e regimes de verdade amplamente discutidos por Foucault (1971, 2008), Pêcheux (1990), Mascia (2002), Bertoldo (2003), Coracini (2003), Gregolin (2004), Orlandi (2006), Veiga-Neto (2007), Possenti (2007) e Amarante (2009). Por meio da análise desses documentos, notou-se a presença de traços argumentativos que contribuem para o estabelecimento de um regime de verdade, perpassado por relações de poder-saber. Além disso, os resultados obtidos apontam para polêmicas existentes entre as Orientações Curriculares Nacionais e a Proposta Curricular do Estado de São Paulo no que concerne aos pressupostos teóricos e orientações práticas para o ensino e aprendizagem de línguas.

Reflexão e identidade profissional do professor de LE: que histórias contam os futuros professores?

Este artigo relata os resultados de um estudo realizado com alunas de graduação em Letras, Português - Língua Estrangeira (Inglês, Espanhol, Italiano, Japonês, Francês e Alemão). Objetivou verificar as metáforas, regras da prática e princípios que as alunas identificaram durante um processo de reflexão sobre suas formações profissionais. Foi possível identificar o impacto desses elementos em seus processos individuais de desenvolvimento de identidades como professoras. O resultado foi um conjunto de histórias biográficas escritas (fontes de experiências) nas quais as participantes se baseavam para constituir suas identidades profissionais como professoras de línguas estrangeiras. Nesses processos, elas puderam construir ligações significativas entre os aspectos teóricos evidenciados nas leituras que realizaram durante o período da pesquisa e os vários eventos marcantes de suas narrativas orais acerca da carreira profissional. A associação dos vários aspectos de suas histórias pessoais às questões teóricas que foram discutidas durante a pesquisa revela processos de construções de identidades profissionais como professoras de línguas estrangeiras.

Técnicas de utilização de dicionário como material didático na aula de LE para fins específicos

Este artigo apresenta uma metodologia de trabalho relacionado ao uso do dicionário como material didático na aula de língua estrangeira com fins específicos, em atividades como desenvolvimento de vocabulário, gramática, pronúncia, uso de língua, cultura, leitura e interpretação de texto. Com certas técnicas, os professores podem aproveitar esse material em suas aulas e orientar seus alunos sobre qual dicionário adquirir e como empregá-lo de maneira eficiente. Oferecemos algumas sugestões de atividades para serem realizadas com o dicionário, seja em aulas para alunos particulares ou em cursos profissionalizantes em áreas específicas.

Inglês para crianças do Ensino Fundamental: visões implícitas da avaliação proposta por um livro didático e as crenças dos professores

Este trabalho, de natureza qualitativa e de cunho etnográfico, tem como cenário um Projeto de Línguas Estrangeiras, implementado nos Ciclos 1 e 2 do Ensino Fundamental Público de uma cidade do interior paulista. O objetivo principal do estudo é investigar as visões implícitas da avaliação proposta pelo livro didático em uso no mencionado contexto de ensino, confrontando-as com a abordagem explícita do material acerca do processo avaliatório e com as crenças dos professores sobre a avaliação em foco. Para tanto, tomamos como referencial os princípios sociointeracionistas (Vygotsky, 1978) e comunicacionais (Almeida Filho, 1993, 2005) de linguagem e aprendizagem, assim como construtos referentes às crenças sobre ensino e aprendizagem de línguas (Barcelos, 1995, 2004a, b; Silva, 2005) e também referentes à avaliação (Scaramucci, 1997, 2004) no ensino de línguas para crianças (Cameron, 2001).

Aprendendo línguas estrangeiras in-tandem: histórias de identidades

A Pesquisa Narrativa de Clandinin & Connelly (2000) compreende a experiência humana como histórias vividas e contadas. Nesta abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, os participantes contam histórias e os pesquisadores as recontam e as reconstroem por meio de narrativas acerca das experiências. Tendo este arcabouço metodológico como orientador de nossos procedimentos de pesquisa, neste artigo investigamos nossa experiência compartilhada de aprendizagem in-tandem do português e do italiano - no caso, uma experiência de oito meses por meio de um tandem face-a-face. Neste período, vivenciamos e coletamos dados acerca de nosso processo de aprender a língua um do outro: anotações de campo, mensagens reflexivas de e-mail trocadas durante o período e o conteúdo anotado durante as aulas. Ao reviver nossas histórias vividas durante aquele período, por meio da narrativa aqui apresentada, ressaltamos os elementos de identidade no nosso tandem que acreditamos estarem relacionados à aprendizagem. Também individuamos os elementos desencadeadores de identidade específicos deste contexto de aprendizagem.

A autoavaliação da aprendizagem de inglês como língua estrangeira em um ambiente tandem a distância

Este trabalho visa discutir as características do processo de autoavaliação da aprendizagem de inglês como língua estrangeira em um contexto tandem a distancia. Trata-se, mais especificamente, da apresentação de uma pesquisa na qual se analisam os dados coletados no ambiente teletandem (TELLES, 2005) por uma brasileira (aprendiz de inglês), durante suas interações via chat com dois parceiros norteamericanos (aprendizes de português). A análise enfoca as metas e estratégias de aprendizagem em relação aos parâmetros e critérios adotados pela brasileira em seu processo de autoavaliação.