Consciência morfológica e suas contribuições para a leitura e a compreensão de textos em língua adicional.

Abstract

All individuals are able to learn languages and, even more, to realize that they have an internal organization. This knowledge can emerge at different times in life, such as when learning a new language (SCHWIDT, 2014). It can be assumed that every human being is endowed with the ability to critically reflect on a linguistic code, or even taking it as an object of analysis (ALVES, 2009). Considering that using a language “comprises a sophisticated cognitive processing” (FINGER, 2015, p. 48, our translation), which covers several cognitive processes, such as memory systems, attention, emotion, consciousness, etc., this research will focus specifically on morphological awareness, understanding it as the ability to “reflect on the smallest units of meaning in a language and intentionally use them for structuring and recognition of words” (MOTA, 2014, p. 201, our translation). Studies in different alphabetic languages suggest that morphological awareness can be associated with successful recognition and understanding of words during reading, as it can facilitate the process reading morphologically complex words (CARLISLE, 1995; COLÉ et al., 2003; DUARTE, 2010; LORANDI, 2011; GUIMARÃES et al., 2014; D'ALESSIO; JAICHENCO, 2016; SOARES, 2016), making it faster and easier. Assuming that this research was conducted in a border region (LIMA; DA SILVA, 2015) constituted by the twin cities of Santana do Livramento/BR and Rivera/UY, where everyone is allowed to cross it freely as well as make use of both languages (Portuguese and Spanish), the aim is to verify if the mobilization of morphological knowledge could improve reading and text comprehension among students and teachers of Portuguese as an Additional Language (PAL). Therefore, the research comprises two studies, being Study 1 composed of 60 Uruguayan students (youth and adults) from a Brazilian federal institution and Study 2, consisting of 30 Portuguese language teachers who teach in Uruguayan schools. The first hypothesis is that the development of morphological awareness can improve both processes of target language learning and PAL teaching, since it promotes awareness towards the language rules and functioning. The results suggest a reciprocal relationship between morphological awareness and text comprehension in additional language, since reading comprehension depends on the comprehension of words, while the comprehension of certain words can be facilitated by the development of morphological awareness.