NUNES, M. R.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/5920286438056769; NUNES, Myllena Rodrigues.
Resumo:
The general aim of the research that led to this paper is to analyze the spontaneous oral
narratives of three-year-old children in a public early childhood education institution. It also
has the specific objectives of identifying the themes present in the children's narratives;
analyzing the circumstances in which the narratives are produced and identifying the basic
elements of the narrative, such as the sequence of facts, characters, time and space. The research
problem driving the study is as follows: How are the spontaneous narratives of children in the
early stages of Early Childhood Education characterized? Thus, the study takes children's oral
narratives as the unit of analysis, understanding them as a social construction and practice that
contributes as a mobilizing action for language development, impacting on integral
development. Our basic theoretical framework lies within the scope of socio-interactionist
theories, mainly in the research of Vygotsky (2009, 2000a, 2000b) and Tomasello (2019), who
focus on psychological development and language acquisition in childhood. Other scholars,
including Bruner (1997, 1998, 2000), Dolz (2004), Perroni (1983) and François (2009), help us
to understand the structure and importance of this genre as an instrument of great relevance for
oral language development. This is a qualitative investigation and, in this sense, the
methodology followed the principles of this type of research. The field research was carried out
in a class with children aged around three years old, in an Early Childhood Education institution
belonging to the municipal public network of Santa Cruz do Capibaribe-PE. Participant
observations were made, recorded on audio, video and in a field diary. The scenes recomposed
through this material and the confrontation with the theoretical framework resulted in the
composition of interaction episodes between the pairs and the researcher, which could be
treated, making it possible to define two categories of analysis: a) the structure and elements of
the children's narratives; b) the situations and themes of the factual narratives. In conclusion,
the data indicates that the age of the children is not a predictive factor for the category of the
spontaneous narrative genre, especially in relation to the sequencing of events. Their narratives
do not follow traditional structures, but have a unique organization that combines diverse
elements (the fact, the time sequence, the setting, the sequence of events, and the narrative
focus), transcending linguistic markers and reinforcing their lived experiences. Children's
spontaneous narratives, therefore, represent a phenomenon always under construction,
dependent on cognitive operations, interactive relationships, as well as textual speech patterns,
symbolisms rooted in culture and language, accessible through involvement with others in
culturally organized activities.