Os processos cognitivos na leitura em língua inglesa para fins acadêmicos : o papel da tradução automática como suporte para a aquisição lexical e a compreensão leitora.

Abstract

Reading comprehension in English for academic purposes (EAP) is an important skill for graduate students, given the role of English as the lingua franca of science (FORATTINI, 1996; JENKINS, 2007), as a gateway to scientific works carried out in different parts of the world. However, many graduate students in Brazil do not have the appropriate level of proficiency to read fluently in English in order to understand the text autonomously. Therefore, strategies and resources are needed to help them along this process, and the most used currently is the automatic translator (AT), more specifically Google Translate. From the perspective of psycholinguistic studies, we argue that reading comprehension only occurs if the lower processes, which involve word decoding, are automated, freeing up working memory resources to process the text. Regarding readers who are not proficient in an additional language, reading is interrupted by the lack of lexical knowledge, thus impairing the superior processes of comprehension (PERFETTI, 1985, 2001, 2007; PERFETTI; HART, 2002). Thus, this thesis aims to investigate the cognitive processes involved in reading in EAP, focusing on the analysis of using AT as a teaching tool for reading comprehension and lexical acquisition. This is a qualitative-quantitative study carried out using the instructional intervention methodology (DAMIANI, 2012, 2014; NACARATO; LIMA, 2020), with the participation of 18 graduate students at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul (UNISC) in a sequence of activities, comprising an initial questionnaire, four pre-tests, an instructional intervention and four post-tests. The intervention was carried out through a course on Reading in English for Academic Purposes, which was taught in total of 45 hours for two groups of 9 participants, a control group and an experimental group. The instruction for the control group explored reading strategies and incidental vocabulary learning, focusing on inferential processes. Differently, the methodology applied for the experimental group included, in addition to the inference strategies, explicit instruction on the use of AT and comprehension activities containing different applications of the tool. The intervention was designed to contribute to research on the use of AT as a tool for learning additional languages, which has been increasing in recent decades (NIÑO, 2009; GARCIA; PENA, 2011; JOLLEY; MAIMONE, 2015; KARNAL, 2015; KNOWLES, 2016; DUCAR; SCHOCKET, 2018; J; LEE; BRIGGS, 2021; TUZCU, 2021). The results show the effectiveness of using AT in teaching reading in IFA, since both classes showed improvement in performance, however, the experimental group performed better than the control group in all post-tests, indicating that the methodology promoted lexical acquisition and reading comprehension processes as well. Qualitative analysis based on instruments such as group verbal protocols, self-reports indicates that the experimental group developed more awareness regarding metacognitive strategies, and processes during reading. The research provides contributions to both the field of psycholinguistic studies and applied linguistics, addressing the cognitive aspects of reading in IFA teaching, as well as the use of new technologies in teaching reading in additional language lessons.