Escrita em língua inglesa por meio da gamificação em uma plataforma virtual

Abstract

This dissertation aims to comprehend the experience of a teacher/researcher in the subject of English Language with two classes of third year of Professional integrated highschool in the Federal Institute of Alagoas (IFAL) - in the courses of Hosting and Agroecology. During those classes, the linguistic-discussive focus was English language writing, understood here as a process, not a product (HARMER, 2002; CAMPBELL; IFA, 2016). The teaching methodology was accomplished through the implementation of gamified strategies and through online posts in a virtual forum platform, in the perspective of Critical Literacy (ANDREOTTI, 2014; JANKS, 2010, 2013, 2016; JORDÃO, 2016), opening spaces for fostering critical and reflective citizens. The theories that base this study are: (1) a vision of language as purposed by Bakhtin (1997), who considers that all spheres of human relations are related to language and that language is constituted by social dialogue. (2) the discussion related to excess of information and frontiers reduction, censorship, social formations and power (NASCIMENTO, 2014; ZACCHI, 2014; ALVES, 20165). (3) gamification (ZICHERMANN; CUNNINGHAM, 2011; SHELDON, 2012; KAPP, 2012, 2013) as an alternative way of promoting motivational, engaging and cooperative learning. (4) the perspective of Critical Literacy (ANDREOTTI, 2014; JANKS, 2010, 2013, 2016; JORDÃO, 2016) that points towards the multiple visions of the world and how we are constituted (designed) under power, access and diversity relations, in order to rethink transcultural connections to which we are exposed daily, not only to make our cohexistance gratifying, but also to expose and change inequities in local and global contexts (redesign). The purposes of the research were to analyse and reflect upon my and students‘ participation in gamified classes and to identify impacts of the gamified experience. In order to reach its purposes, this research followed the methodological orientations of autoethnography (ELLIS, BOCHNER, 2000; SANTOS, GARMS, 2014; EISENBACH, 2016) for its sensitive, introspective and reflective characteristics, in which, through personal accounts, we can validate and attribute sense to social, cultural and historical experiences. The research happened for nine weeks, and the themes tackled during the classes were "entertainment" and "everyday conversations". The themes were determined through students‘ interests, and worked through gamified strategies. The data collection instruments were autobiographic journals, recordings, lesson plans, questionnaires, written productions, gamified activities registers and interviews. Schools are not isolated from social dialogue, even more in global and local contexts (TAVARES; STELLA, 2014), and the English language classroom was also viewed as a place to promote citizenship. It was possible to trigger a written process in which work and sharing of ideas between students became part of the process to promote design and redesign of discourses, as addressed in Janks' (2010; 2016) Critical Literacy. In learning, it was a way of empowering the students, then, able to use language as a way of acting, rethinking and promoting changes in the many social contexts they interacted with. This research is inserted in the field of applied linguistics (MOITA-LOPES, 2006) due to this field studies of language in multiple contexts.