Class 4 - Didactic Material Analysis

In our September 3 meeting we examined one of CNA’s (Cultural Norte Americano, Brazilian language school franchise) student’s books, used for teaching the pre-advanced level students. This examination was made with the help of a list of questions used by MEC (Ministry of Education - Portuguese: Ministério da Educação - MEC, is a Brazilian government ministry) with this same objective. These questions were divided in three groups: 1) oral and written texts, 2) written comprehension and 3) linguistic-discursive knowledge: grammar and vocabulary. What we are going to present next is a summary of the results.

As for the topic of oral and written texts, we can say that the material brings texts which are representative of different spheres of social activity. It also presents texts of different genres and types, which represent the formal and informal registers. However, the texts do not present a diversity of original supports and do not indicate their source, which were apparently adapted.

As for the written comprehension, we can say that the reading activities present pre-reading and post-reading activities, promoting the development of strategies like information location, production of inference, and general and detailed understanding of the text. Moreover, the activities count on a plurality of interpretations, explore intertextuality and encourage the search of texts and information outside of the book. On the other hand, we could not detect the polyphonic nature of the texts.

Finally, from the linguistic-discursive point of view, we concluded that besides offering opportunities for the learner to use the language structures with appropriateness and correction, the material is grammatically correct and adequate to its thematic content. The linguistic input is contextualized and it is embedded in varied and authentic discursive practices. The vocabulary activities stimulate the understanding and use of expressions and idioms in the student, helping them develop organization and expansion strategies of their lexical knowledge.