O ENSINO DA LÍNGUA TERENA NA EDUCAÇÃO INFANTIL DAESCOLA POLO MUNICIPAL INDÍGENA ALEXINA ROSA FIGUEIREDO

Abstract

This study focused on the teaching of the Terena language in early childhood educationat the Alexina Rosa Figueiredo Indigenous School located in the Buriti IndigenousVillage, in the municipality of Dois Irmãos do Buriti in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Itsmain objective is to investigate the teaching practices regarding the use of the Terenalanguage in education for four- and five-year-old children and to verify if the Terenalanguage is the language of instruction used with Indigenous children of this age groupof the school in this study. There is a global concern regarding the strengthening ofIndigenous languages since most are at risk of extinction, and Buriti Village adds to thisstatistic, as there are few first-language speakers, which indicates the need for strategiesto strengthen the language. Intercultural and differentiated schooling provides for the useof this Indigenous language, which makes the school an important tool for itsmaintenance. The qualitative methodology used in this study consisted of a bibliographicsurvey on the legislation that guarantees the teaching of Indigenous languages at school, and authors such as Nincao (2003 - 2008), Cavalcante and Maher (2006), Farias (2015), Toneto (2008), Oliveira (2003), Hamel (2003), Knapp (2012), Brighenti and Chamorro(2012), Rajagopalan (2013), Altenhofen (2013), Maher (2013) and Lagares (2013), among others. As for the quantitative methodology, interviews were carried out withnineteen people, nine of which were teachers who have already worked in early childhoodeducation and school management, in addition to ten parents in the community, tounderstand how language teaching occurs in the children's schooling in the village inquestion. The results of this study give an overview of the linguistic situation of thisIndigenous language in the community, reinforcing the need for language policies forIndigenous schools.