Questões de Concursos

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Education in a language which is not the first language of the learner is as old as education itself. As individuals from different language groups have lived together, some have been educated in an additional language. This is as true of Ancient Rome as it is of the increasingly multilingual societies being created through mobility and globalization in the 21th century.

Two thousand years ago, provision of an educational curriculum in an additional language happened as the Roman Empire expanded and absorbed Greek territory, language and culture. Families in Rome educated their children in Greek to ensure that they would have access to not only the language, but also the social and professional opportunities it would provide for them in their future lives, including living in Greek-speaking educational communities. This historical experience has been replicated across the world through the centuries, and is now particularly true of the global uptake of English language learning.

Researchers and educators have sought new practices in education that will suit the demands of the present day. Globalization and the forces of economic and social convergence have had a significant impact on who learns which language, at what stage in their development, and in which way. The driving forces for language learning differ according to country and region, but they share the objective of wanting to achieve the best possible results in the shortest time. This need has often dovetailed with the need to adapt content-teaching methodologies so as to raise overall levels of proficiency.

(COYLE, Do; HOOD, Philip; MARSH, David. 2010. Adaptado)

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The question of whether or not to distinguish between native and nonnative speakers in the teaching profession has grown into a common and productive topic of research in the last decade. For many decades the English language teaching profession assumed that native English-speaking teachers, by virtue of their superior model of oral production, comprised the ideal English language teacher. Then, Medgyes (1994), among others, showed in his research that nonnative English speaking teachers offered as many if not more inherent advantages. Other authors concur by noting not only that multiple varieties of English are now considered legitimate and acceptable, but also that teachers who have actually gone through the process of learning English possess distinct advantages over native speakers.

As we move into a new paradigm in which the concepts of native and nonnative “speaker” become less relevant, it is perhaps more appropriate to think in terms of the proficiency level of a user of a language. Speaking is one of four skills and may not deserve in all contexts to be elevated to the sole criterion for proficiency. So, the profession is better served by considering a person’s communicative proficiency across the four skills. Teachers of any language, regardless of their own variety of English, can then be judged accordingly, and in turn, their pedagogical training and experience can occupy focal attention.

(Brown, 2006. Adaptado)

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A language function is a purpose you wish to achieve when you say or write something. If you say ‘I invite you’, you are performing the function of inviting. Of course you could also say ‘D’you want to come to the cinema?’ to make an invitation. There are many ways of inviting, apologising, agreeing, giving advice, asking for information etc.

If our students want to express themselves in speaking or writing, they need to know to perform these functions – in other words, how to use grammar and vocabulary to express certain meanings/ purposes.

(Jeremy Harmer. How to teach English, 1998. Adaptado)