O ensino do léxico no material didático Anytime! Always ready for education

Abstract

Starting from the idea that lexical knowledge is fundamental for the effective use of any language, since speakers need to use words in everyday contexts and in different interaction situations, we acknowledge the importance of teaching lexicon as a strong possibility to promote the development of orality, reading, writing, analysis and reflection on the language and also the intercultural dimension (BRASIL, 2017). Based on linguistic studies that focus on lexicon (BIDERMAN, 1996; ANTUNES, 2012; KRIEGER, 2014), reaffirming its relevance for teaching English and understanding vocabulary as a core element in learning a language (LEFFA, 2000), this research aims to investigate the treatment given to the lexicon in the High School English Language textbook, approved by the National Book and Teaching Material Program (PNLD) 2021 (BRASIL, 2021), Anytime! Always Ready for Education. Based on the qualitative analysis of 115 proposed activities, the teaching strategies and practices that present the lexicon are observed, through the teaching material adopted. The choice to examine the textbook is due to its wide dissemination and use in schools, which is a relevant didactic-pedagogical instrument, and in the Brazilian educational context of teaching English as a foreign language, this ends up becoming the main source of input for teachers and students. After the selection and organization of the corpus, the interpretation, description and analysis of the data is carried out, based on the theoretical framework, through which relationships are established between Applied Linguistics (BAIÃO, 2018; BEZERRA, 2004; CERVETTI et al., 2012; LEWIS, 2008; NATION; NEWTON, 1997; THORNBURY, 2007), Lexicology (ANTUNES, 2007, 2012; BIDERMAN, 1996; KRIEGER, 2014; NEVES, 2020;) and the teaching of English as a foreign language (CUNNINGSWORTH, 1995; KRASHEN, 1982; LEFFA, 2000; RICHARDS; RODGERS, 2001). The overview of how the activities are proposed in the selected didact material, through the analysis and categorization, helps us to understand how the lexical study of the English language has been developed. The results have shown the concentration of lexical teaching strategies, focused on the association between words and images, pointing out the lack of diversity, verifying the need for expansion and greater constancy in proposing presentation activities and working with the lexicon.