Ensino-aprendizagem de gramática: entre crenças e possibilidades à luz do funcionalismo linguístico

Abstract

The research explores the beliefs of Basic Education teachers about grammar teaching and how these beliefs influence their pedagogical practices. It highlights the central role of the teacher in conducting the educational process and the quality of student learning. The main objective of the study is to understand teachers' beliefs about grammar teaching and analyze how these beliefs shape their practices. Additionally, it proposes the development and implementation of an intervention mini-course to reshape these practices in light of linguistic Functionalism, with the evaluation of the impact of this intervention as an essential goal of the research. The introduction emphasizes the importance of scientific research as a transformative agent of reality. The study's object is delineated through the intersection of the words "beliefs," "grammar teaching," "Functionalism," and "teacher," alongside presenting data from a questionnaire applied to Basic Education teachers to highlight the relevance of the topic before proceeding to the mini-course. In Chapter II, definitions of beliefs related to language teaching and their connection to grammar teaching are addressed, along with the main conceptions of grammar present in teaching materials and national guidelines such as the PCN (1998) and the BNCC (2018). Chapter III discusses the American-oriented Functionalism conception of language, linguistics, and grammar teaching, reviewing concepts such as syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, and exploring the principle of iconicity, both in the original theory and in the interpretations of Brazilian researchers. In Chapter IV, the training participants are characterized, focusing on the beliefs revealed during the process. The planning and mediation of the training are described, from the selection of materials to the final evaluation, offering an assessment of the experiences during the meetings. Chapter V analyzes the beliefs of Basic Education teachers in light of the studied concepts and Functionalist theory. Unlike the previous chapter, which explores the pedagogical aspect of the training, this chapter highlights the content of the beliefs and their relation to the central research question, presenting the obtained results. In Chapter VI, the didactic sequences produced by the mini-course participants are analyzed. It discusses how these sequences reflect the teachers' beliefs and how the knowledge of Linguistic Functionalism influences the approach to grammar teaching in practical situations. The research adopts a four-stage methodology: literature review, conducting an intervention mini-course, post-mini-course analysis based on school ethnography, and the use of qualitative and quantitative methods to understand teachers' beliefs about grammar teaching in Basic Education. It concludes that teachers' personal beliefs significantly influence pedagogical practice, often shaping their approaches to grammar teaching even in the face of theoretical knowledge and educational guidelines. These beliefs can act as limiters when they deviate from theories such as Linguistic Functionalism, which promotes a contextualized and functional approach to grammar teaching.