Linguística de corpus e autenticidade de livros didáticos: o caso do português como língua estrangeira (PLE)

Abstract

This study aims to show the results of an analysis of a textbook, of which I am coauthor, for the teaching of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) (Fernandes et al., 2008). The main aim of the research was the investigation of indicative aspects of authenticity in the teaching material analyzed, starting from the premise that even non-authentic texts may show characteristic elements of authenticity, and that these elements can be detected using the methods from Corpus Linguistics. As such, this research is based on Corpus Linguistics and the concepts of authenticity (Berber Sardinha, 2007; Nunan, 1989), idiomaticity (Sinclair, 1991), and lexical bundles (Biber et al., 1999). We developed and applied a methodology for identification of authenticity in corpora that, in summary, is based on the lexico-grammatical analysis of the texts involved in a search for patterns that might provide evidence of authenticity (or otherwise) of teaching material, given that the frequency and quantity of the patterns found are expected to reflect the actual usage of language. Results indicated that not every non-authentic text is a bad example of lexicogrammar, since this kind of text included in the teaching material showed many instances of lexical bundles recurrent in authentic language. At the same time, the mere fact of being authentic does not guarantee that the lexical bundles contained in a text are typical of spoken or written language. The research aims to contribute to the area since to date there has been no research focusing the analysis of authenticity in teaching materials for PFL