A variação linguística na sala de aula: crenças e atitudes de professores municipais de Foz do Iguaçu – PR

Abstract

Immersed in a heterogeneous, diverse, and multilingual classroom context, teachers from the municipal education system of Foz do Iguaçu, a tourist city located in a triple-border region, experience daily manifestations of linguistic variation, both in oral and written language, and need to mediate these situations. But how do these mediations occur? How much do teachers know about linguistic variation in order to intervene appropriately? What do teachers think about linguistic prejudice? Based on questions such as these, the general objective of this study was to investigate the beliefs and attitudes regarding linguistic variation held by teachers who teach 5th-grade classes in the municipal education system of Foz do Iguaçu, PR. The approach is qualitative, of a basic and exploratory nature, with a descriptive objective. Regarding the procedures, bibliographic research was conducted, as well as an analysis of educational documents and an analysis of data collected through a questionnaire with belief and attitude tests, administered to municipal teachers who work as Regente I in 5th-grade classes. The theoretical framework is based on the foundations of Educational Sociolinguistics and on studies of Linguistic Beliefs and Attitudes, according to authors such as Bortoni-Ricardo (2005, 2022), Bagno (2007, 2009), Cyranka (2007), Santos (1996), and Barcelos (2006), among others, with the aim of discussing essential introductory concepts and notions from the fields of Sociolinguistics, Educational Sociolinguistics, and Linguistic Beliefs and Attitudes. Initially, the data indicate that many municipal teachers demonstrate misconceptions, taking Sociolinguistics as a reference, regarding linguistic variation, largely limiting it to regional variation or to translanguaging. This restricted understanding compromises a broader and more critical view of the topic, making appropriate pedagogical interventions more difficult. Considering the difficulties faced by teachers in appropriating sociolinguistic knowledge, misconceptions about the teaching of the Portuguese language are often perpetuated. In this sense, this investigation seeks to contribute to the construction of more critical, inclusive, and sensitive pedagogical practices that value students’ different linguistic realities, promoting respect for diversity and combating linguistic prejudice.