Oralidade e tecnologias na escola pública: uma proposta para promover o engajamento estudantil nas aulas de língua inglesa no ensino fundamental

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the implementation of an English-language authorial didactic material (ADM) focused on oral language production and on including the New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT) in an elementary school through action research. The didactic material is composed of 4 Units, applied over a period of 8 weeks in a sixth grade class of a public school in Santa Maria / RS. To approach English language teaching in Brazilian public schools, this study was based mainly on the following documents and researchers: PCNs (2000; 2002); LDB (1996); Referenciais Curriculares Estaduais (SEDUC/RS 2009); Irala and Leffa (2014); Leffa (2011); Almeida (2012); Rajagopalan (2011); Paiva (2011); Silva and Paiva (2016), and Micolli (2016). When inside the classroom, the teacher and students are responsible for the learning process. Leffa (2011, p.31) suggests that a line of action should be created, which contemplates three stages: (1) to create a partnership between teacher and students, forming a community in the classroom; (2) to establish, jointly, the objectives that are sought; (3) to seek the means necessary to achieve these goals”. School engagement has attracted the attention of researchers, educators, and legislators from various countries as a key factor in tackling problems such as low achievement, high levels of boredom and student alienation, and high dropout rates (FREDRICKS, BLUMENFELD, and PARIS 2004). According to Stelko-Pereira et al. (2015, p. 207), school engagement can be defined as "the relationship that is established between the student and a school activity" (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Julio, Vaz, & Fagundes, 2011) and the measure of students' motivation to learn and to perform satisfactorily at school (Gouveia, 2009) ". Fredricks, Blumenfeld & Paris (2004, 62-64) define the concept of engagement as multifactorial, presenting three dimensions: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement and cognitive engagement. Based on the application of a questionnaire of needs and interests, classes were planned involving the use of the NICT available at the school and the mobile devices from the students themselves. Initial planning needed to be altered due to changes in the school's schedule and technical difficulties, such as Internet signal instability and restrictions on the use of the school's computer lab. In spite of the difficulties in school structure and organization, it was noted the possibility of using oral production in English, contextualized knowledge, comprehensible input, and NICT tools in activities to motivate student engagement. At the end of the ADM implementation, 5 videos were produced and uploaded to the group’s channel on YouTube. The video recording activities for YouTube and the quizzes online on the website kahoot.com were highlighted as the preferred ones in students’ assessments.