ON CURRICULAR PROPOSALS OF THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE: A DOCUMENT ANALYSIS IN JUIZ DE FORA (MG)

Abstract

This paper, whose objective is to analyze two curricular proposals of Portuguese from the Juiz de Fora City Hall (2001 and 2012), is an extract from a research entitled “On text genres and teaching: a collaborative research with teachers of Portuguese” (2011/2013). Text genres have been suggested by curricular proposals as a central object for teachers who work with Portuguese language teaching; for this, it is relevant to analyze the documents in the realm of the ongoing research. As theoretical references, we used authors who propose a didactic model based on the development of language skills and linguistic reasoning (MENDONÇA, 2006) which in turn are based on an interactional conception of language (BRONCKART, 1999; SCHNEUWLY; DOLZ, 2004). Document analysis was used as methodology, which envisions assessment of pieces of information in documents as well as their outcomes. The data show that the 2012 curricular proposal is more adequate to Portuguese language teaching than the first one, mainly for its theoretical and methodological grounding, which emphasize the development of students’ linguistic and discursive skills. Guided by an interactionist notion – unlike the norm-centered 2001 proposal – the 2012 document fosters the development of linguistic reasoning and usage skills.