English for specific purposes: reading the world

Abstract

This work consists of a didactic material developed for the teaching of English in Brazil, which consists of two units, thus entitled, respectively: Languages of the world and Girls just wanna have (fun)damental human rights. Both units, despite addressing different themes, have as their main focus the teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) centered on the development of reading skills and strategies (SOUZA et al., 2005; SILVEIRA; VEREZA, 2010). The production of teaching material was designed to serve adult students attending higher education and whose linguistic level corresponds to A2, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), therefore basic level. The choice and organization of the content, which also privileges other linguistic skills – listening, speaking and writing – follows what is proposed by Leffa (2007), in the sense of bringing first what is easier and simpler for the student to, then, progress gradually to more complex and challenging activities. Each of the units, which must be used sequentially by the teacher, is accompanied by its respective Teacher's Guide, which provides guidance on how to use the material, as well as the transcription of the audio activities and the answer keys to all exercises, as well as suggestions for the teacher to guide their practice in the classroom. It is important to emphasize that the entire development of the teaching material is supported by academic studies and research, which is presented in the rationale that follows the two units and each Teacher's Guide.