Potencialidades para o ensino e o aprendizado de línguas para surdos e o “Letrandolibras”

Abstract

The limited availability of bilingual teaching materials for deaf people is the main reason for this thesis, much of which was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As most school interactions were more intense in a virtual format, we sought to identify and analyze bilingual teaching resources/materials available on the internet, starting in 2022, identifying possibilities for teaching and learning Libras, written Portuguese, and sign writing for deaf people from a bilingual perspective. This research is based on Steyer (2020), Stumpf and Linhares (2021a, 2021b, 2021c), Maquieira (2018), and Maquieira et al. (2022), Quadros (2004, 2006), Karnopp (2006), Quadros and Schmiedt (2006), among others. Based on a survey conducted on Google, in Play Store apps, on YouTube, and on websites focused on deafness and Libras, it was found that much of what is available or considered a teaching resource for the deaf consists of games that explore playfulness, videos focused on entertainment, and dictionaries aimed at developing Portuguese spelling and vocabulary. Given these findings and based on interactions between research groups in which this author also participated, in addition to what these resources presented, the need to enable access to teaching and learning in signed and written Libras (SignWriting), in addition to the Portuguese language in written form, using resources that enable literary literacy. From this perspective, letrandolibras.com.br emerged, assumed in this thesis as a bilingual and digital teaching resource, currently in the implementation phase, whose purpose is to promote the teaching of Libras and written Portuguese for the deaf through literary literacy, initially using the narrative Chapeuzinho Vermelho Surda (Cruz; Vales; Silveira, 2024), produced in a digital version and in printed book form. Based on the resources identified throughout the research, with details of “Letrandolibras” and preliminary indications of its potential, it is hoped to contribute to the development of bilingual materials for the deaf that consider Libras, sign writing, and the Portuguese language in written form, with an emphasis on deaf education, involving deaf teachers and students who use sign language, as well as the dissemination of existing materials, from early childhood education to elementary school, considering their use and language learning in this context and beyond.