Faces do Brasil e dos brasileiros em imagens de livros didáticos de português para estrangeiros
Abstract
In recent years, research on Portuguese as foreign language teaching and learning has been the recipient of great academic interest. This is due to several factors, such as the creation of international partnerships (MERCOSUL), easier mobility (tourism) and interest in Brazilian nature and natural products. Furthermore, Portuguese is the native language of more than 250 million speakers, which makes it the sixth most spoken native language in the world, and the third in the West. In this growing field of research, one prominent topic is educational materials, and more particularly educational books used for teaching Portuguese as foreign language. In this dissertation, educational books are considered a multimodal genre that is crucial in the teaching-learning process (which also involves teachers and students). Considering educational books multimodal/multi-semiotic character, we propose an analysis of the images/pictures/photographs portraying Brazilian people and land. Based on the images presented by educational books, this study s guiding question is: how are Brazilians and Brazil portrayed in Portuguese as foreign language educational books? Thus, the investigation is carried out as qualitative research, as it follows criteria of representativeness, not of probabilistic sampling.