Transitando entre a libras e o português na sala de aula: em busca de estratégias visuais de ensino da leitura

Abstract

In this paper, we intend to discuss the teaching of reading to deaf people, mediated by sign language. The research is based on a holistic perspective of bilingualism, considering the language mixing as a natural phenomenon of bilingualism (GROSJEAN, 2008), which needs to be examined in pedagogical contexts (SILVA, 2005; SILVA, 2010). A lesson on reading in a 9th grade classroom with deaf students and a hearing teacher was analyzed so as to show how teachers and students need to shuttle between Libras and Portuguese during classes. The analysis of this event evidences the complexity of the work of someone who teaches Portuguese to the deaf, especially regarding the way in which the teacher uses sign language to stimulate the students'process of meaning­making and to explain the content and linguistic elements of the texts in Portuguese. Next, a proposal is made for a visual paradigm for the teaching of reading cf. Andrews and Rusher (2010), which establishes different ways of dealing systematically with the transition between written language and sign language in terms of teaching objectives.