Uso das conjunções coordenativas como elemento de coesão textual: uma proposta didática para o 8º ano do Ensino Fundamental

Abstract

This master’s thesis has the general objective of presenting a proposal for approaching coordinating conjunctions a textual cohesion resource for the 8th year of Elementary School. The research starting point was the observation that, despite the volume of linguistic studies on the functioning of coordinating conjunctions, reflections on the multifunctionality of conjunctions do not seem to materialize in Portuguese language teaching. It is possible to observe that textbooks, for example, despite having undergone changes over the last few decades, still present, in many cases, a more traditional approach, which justifies a study that combines theoretical reflections and the elaboration of a proposal for teaching conjunctions comprising the phrasal, textual and discursive levels. This is an interpretative qualitative research developed in the Professional Master's in Letters (Profletras), which uses the methods of bibliographic and documentary research. The study includes the mapping of concepts and descriptions of the function of coordinating conjunctions in the grammars by Almeida (2004), Cegalla (2008), Cunha and Cintra (2001), Rocha Lima (2011) and Bechara (2015), and a literature review on the functioning of coordinating conjunctions at the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic levels, including their use as a cohesion element, based on Sella (2008; 2006; 2022), Perini (2006; 2010), Antunes (2009; 2015; 2021), Garcia (2010), Koch (2016; 2017), Marcuschi (2017), among others. It also includes an analysis of the approach to conjunctions in a Portuguese language textbook for the 8th grade of Elementary School. The results showed that grammars, especially those more in line with tradition, present gaps in defining the function of conjunctions, which often end up being reproduced in textbooks, without expanding the discussion to the textual and discursive use of these linguistic elements. In view of this context, a didactic proposal is presented to approach the coordinating conjunctions “e” (and) and “mas”(but) in the 8th year of Elementary School, based on a perspective that goes beyond the notion of a mere syntactic-semantic connection between terms and clauses, but that considers the conjunctions as elements that articulate ideas and arguments and, consequently, reflect the position of the text producer, in addition to collaborating for textual progression. It is expected that this work can contribute to the development of reading and writing skills in Portuguese language teaching.