Aprendizagem da leitura e da escrita no contexto de uma escola bilíngue português-inglês.

Abstract

The present study had the general objective of evaluating the performance of students enrolled in a bilingual curriculum (Portuguese and English) in the first two years of the initial grades of Elementary School with regard to learning to read and write in both languages. Are there differences in reading accuracy in Portuguese and English? Is there a positive correlation between languages during the learning process? Are the mistakes made by the first and second grade students from elementary school, during the naming word tests, similar in Portuguese and English? A theoretical review addresses aspects of cognition and language acquisition and the impact of learning to read on brain structures. Recent studies demonstrate positive effects of biliteracy on cognitive and linguistic functions, contradicting theories presented in the first half of the 20th century. According to (Alves; Finger, 2023, p.140) the coactivation of knowledge and skills between languages happens bidirectionally from the mother tongue to the additional language and vice versa without causing any linguistic or cognitive damage to the learner. This research evaluated the effects of bilingualism and biliteracy on children in the literacy phase, through a questionnaire to evaluate the socioeconomic profile of the participants in addition with reading and writing tests that were applied to 287 children, enrolled in the first and second year of Elementary School. Study 1 assessed the accuracy of reading words and pseudowords in Portuguese and English. The reading task was applied in a computer-based modality and developed on the PCIBEX platform (Zehr; Schwarz, 2018). Study 2 was a dictation (naming word) applied in Portuguese and English in order to evaluate the accuracy in writing words in both languages. The results indicate that 2nd grade students performed better in the reading and writing tests in both languages, and it was possible to observe a smaller increase in the additional language. In the analysis of spelling errors in Study 2, there was a decrease in the number of errors made by 2nd grade students in Portuguese compared to 1st year students, however the words that students had greater difficulty in writing were the same in the 1st and 2nd grades in Portuguese and English. The positive and significant correlation between the reading and writing productions in Portuguese and English of the 1st and 2nd grade students was corroborated.