Conceptions of Literacy and Language Teacher Education

Abstract

What relevance or usefulness does the concept of letramento (literacy) have for (language) teacher education? Starting from a definition of wide currency amongst us, I discuss difficulties for the consistent use of the term letramento. Proposing caution when relating it directly with learning, I emphasize the need to reflect about conceptions not only of language but also of action in language use that cohere with the concept. To articulate this with language teacher education, I formulate what I understand to be the purpose of formal language education and the place of metalinguistic reflection in literacy-based language teaching. Alerting to the common misconception that discourse/text genres would thus be seen as objects of teaching in and of themselves, I stress that, with literacy as a reference point, “a functional and structuring approach” (SIMÕES, FILIPOUSKI; MARCHI, 2009) to genres provides adequate pedagogical frameworks for school-based language education. Finally, referring to collective proposals of curricular organization for language education guided by the notion of literacy/letramento, I argue that teacher education initiatives should have as their protagonists those teachers who are themselves authors and teacher educators if we are to foster satisfactory school language education according to the demands and contradictions of our times.