Questões de Concurso

From a sociocultural perspective (Vygotsky, 1978), human cognition is a dynamic phenomenon that originates in social activity and is deeply situated in physical and social contexts. Within this framework, learning an additional language is not viewed as the simple internalization of grammatical rules transmitted from the outside into the learner’s mind. Instead, it is conceived as an interpsychological phenomenon before it can become intrapsychological. In other words, intersubjectivity must necessarily precede intrasubjectivity in the language learning process.

Considering this sociocultural approach to language acquisition, choose the alternative that correctly characterizes how students learn English in the classroom. 

Teaching a foreign language involves providing students with interpretative procedures for meaning-making and distinct world perceptions, regardless of their level of proficiency. Within this framework, the teacher acts as an intercultural mediator, encouraging students to critically reflect on how cultures and identities are socially constructed within unequal power structures.

Considering the concept of intercultural mediation, choose the alternative that presents a pedagogical practice aligned with this critical perspective.  

According to Vygotsky (1987), conceptual development relies on the dialectical integration between scientific concepts (formal school instruction) and everyday concepts (informal social interaction). Therefore, teaching language rules in isolation does not lead to development; instead, formal knowledge must connect to students’ empirical experiences and real-world applications. Analyze the three statements below regarding how language learners develop and integrate scientific and everyday concepts in the classroom.

I - Scientific concepts are not learned through mere words or rote memory; rather, their genuine assimilation by the student depends on their convergence with everyday concepts, which provide real-world meaning to formal structures.
II - Language instruction that isolates scientific concepts from the student’s reality leads to mechanical learning and empty verbalism, producing abstract knowledge that the student is usually unable to apply or connect to real-world situations.
III - Language teaching that relies on everyday concepts allows students to easily transfer their linguistic knowledge to new, unexperienced contexts, as spontaneous learning automatically grants conscious and voluntary control over abstract grammatical rules.

Which statements are aligned with Vygotsky’s view?  

According to Rajagopalan (2009), up to three-quarters of global English users are non-native speakers. Therefore, pedagogical practices must reject the "native speaker myth" and the pursuit of a "perfect pronunciation" - concepts that reinforce unequal power relations. Instead, additional-language classrooms should value multiple linguistic varieties, prioritizing intelligibility, identity, and the negotiation of meaning.

Considering pedagogical practices aimed at valuing different linguistic varieties in the classroom, choose the alternative that presents an activity aligned with this perspective.

“These spaces” (l. 37) in “It is into these spaces that we teach” (l. 36-37) refers to