Uma concepção alternativa de educação formal aplicada ao ensino de pronúncia de Inglês

Abstract

This work introduces an altenative conception of formal education applied to the teaching of pronunciation of English. Its inspiration was the state of neglect faced by the area of pronunciation in Brazilian schools, which results in a poor level of students oral abilities by the end of high school. When such students enter university, they show serious deficiencies, and these are not solved, mainly due to the lack of a structured program in the area. This way, schools receive professionals with considerable limitations in the oral abilities in the language, whichcreates a teaching cycle of inefficiency. In order to search for alternatives aiming at changing this situation, a literature review about the teaching of the pronunciation of English was initially conducted. This review resultedin the formulation of the principles which oriented the creation of our own approach. It highlights: a) the processes of transfer from the L1 to the L2, which support the utilization of Contrastive Analysis; b) the focusing of students attention to specific aspects of the L2; c) the use of inductive learning; d) the use of metalanguage as a support of the formulation of new phonological concepts in the L2; e) the opportunities of practice since the beginning of the learning process; and f) the adoption of the paradigm of English as an International Language as a parameter to the definition of curricular priorities, including the specification of intelligibility as the goal to be reached by the learners. The next step was to nvestigate the context of the city of Belo Horizonte. School teachers, professors and undergraduates in the course of Letters exposed their perception aboutthe problem of pronunciation teaching. The results confirmed the inefficiency cycle and justified the proposal of changes in the current practice, notably in the programs of schools and faculties of Letters, suggesting a systematic and progressive focus on pronunciation.As the research progressed, however, we extended its focus into a more comprehensive conception of education. We viewed the subject English as a part of a complex educational system, in interaction with the other school subjects. We considered that the basic function of school education is to develop the students ability to conduct their learning autonomously. We departed from studies in philosophy and cognitive psychology in the elaboration of such new conception of education, focusing on the students responsibility and awareness of their learning process. Within this view, the students must reflect on their beliefs about the three basic areas of learning (attitudes, procedures and subject matter content); such reflection would trigger a movement of cognitive restructuring, which would lead the students into an ideal state so theycould act on their learning more efficiently. In this process, the development of self-regulation through the use of metacognition is highlighted. Finally, in order to test this new conception of education, 178 students from a private school in Belo Horizonte participated as informants. They expressed their reactions and opinions on the efficacy of this new approach to education. The results provided it with a strong empirical basis, which allows us to suggest its application in other contexts beyond that of the teaching of foreign languages so that its limitations and potentialities could be tested more integrally.