Working with genre or teaching grammar? Between tradition and innovation in the Portuguese language classes

Abstract

This paper presents a reflection based on the observation of two Portuguese classes of a 5^th-grade class from a public elementary school in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Our aim is to analyze the teacher's actions and reactions towards student´s behavior and vice versa in two different moments: one traditional class and another classified as an innovative one. The ethnographic-based research is characterized by a qualitative-interpretive case study. We used several procedures to generate the data: audio and video recording and field notes taking. In the traditional class the teacher applies the exercises from a schoolbook, while in the other hand, in the innovative class she works with textual genres, creating an environment where students interact more spontaneously and more fruitfully, and construct knowledge together. In this moment, students were invited to participate actively in class, and their world knowledge was mobilized. This way of conducting a class seems to promote more effective learning of the Portuguese language.