High School Musical 2 e o gênero musical como recurso multimodal em uma turma de Inglês para adolescentes

Abstract

In this study, I investigate how the musical genre, represented by the film High School Musical 2, can contribute to fostering collaboration among students and the development of English language teaching and learning, addressing the four linguistic skills (oral and written production and comprehension), through the application of a didactic sequence. The research falls within the field of Applied Linguistics and uses the action-research methodology (Burns, 2015; Conserva, 2021; Thiollent, 2011). The intervention was carried out in a social institution in the city of Queimadas-PB, with a class of ten adolescents between 12 and 15 years old in a situation of social vulnerability, where I work as a volunteer. The didactic sequence was structured in four meetings, had collaboration as its central theme, and integrated the four linguistic skills using scenes and songs from the film. The data were generated through my reflective diaries and a mixed questionnaire answered by the students at the end of the intervention. The theoretical framework is primarily based on Bakhtin (1997), Price, Jewitt, and Brown (2013), the New London Group (1996/2021), Dolz and Schneuwly (2004), and Beineke (2015), among others. The results show that the use of the film musical genre promoted engagement and motivation, especially in oral comprehension and production activities, favored by the multimodal and performative nature of the film. While the written comprehension and production activities presented challenges, they were essential for vocabulary systematization and the production of the final script. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed that most students evaluated the experience positively, highlighting the music and staging as the most appreciated aspects and expressing a desire to participate in similar activities in the future. Therefore, I conclude that the film music genre, when explored through a flexible and reflective teaching sequence, can be a powerful pedagogical tool for teaching English to teenagers, integrating linguistic development and civic education.