CONCEPTS OF TEACHERS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LANGUAGE OF CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN AN ESSENTIAL STIMULATION PROGRAM

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify the teachers' conceptions about the development of children participating in a program of essential language stimulation. The study included two teachers and two assistants who work at the School of Basic Education, Special Education (APAE), in an inland city of Parana. Semi-open interviews using a semi-structured guide were performed. The recording of interviews was performed by a recorder. Then, they were transcribed and analyzed using thematic categorization. From the data collected, five categories of analysis. Vygotsky's theoretical framework and current studies on the subject were used as the basis of this discussion. The interviews showed that participants' concepts about language are closely related to speech development, diminishing the importance of other forms of language and even establishing confusion between orality and language. Moreover, the communicative function of language prevails in the reports prepared by the participants, and conceptions about the importance of this skill for the other psychological superior functions or as a structuring content for the children's schooling is virtually nonexistent.