Tecnologías para la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras: Una contribución para lograr los retos educativos de Brasil

Abstract

Technology applied to education is an indissoluble duality needed to create flexible systems that answer society's educational needs. Current educational systems try to encourage policies in this regard. Brazil has followed these policies and has recently created laws on them (PNE 2014-2024). This plan aims to instigate the development and diffusion of technologies since primary school and to promote innovative pedagogical practices based on the use of free software and educational resources. One of the most interesting applications for educational technology in Brazil is the field of second language learning, due to the geographical and linguistic configuration of the country. Brazil is a multilingual country, comprising a number of indigenous languages, that borders other languages of diffusion (Spanish, English and French). In this context, introducing linguistic technologies to achieve true multilingual skills at a national level is essential, as many speakers will only be able to have direct contact with the foreign languages through technology. However, the large amount of linguistic material available on the Internet hinders the selection of adequate materials for the diverse linguistic situations faced by students. This study aims to help facilitate the selection of Internet linguistic resources by offering classifications of materials and presenting a non-exhaustive but relevant portfolio of available resources created or used for learning and teaching second languages. This study is organized into the following sections: After the introductory overview, the first section analyses the current education goals in Brazil, as reflected in the PNE 2014-2024, focusing specifically on aspects related to the use of technology. The second section examines the availability of educational technologies geared towards language teaching, starting with a distinction between institutional technologies and non-institutional technologies. The next section proposes a classification of non-institutional technologies intended for the optimization of the resources available on the Internet for foreign language teaching. The suggested classification can be very helpful for teachers, who have to deal daily with the task of selecting the most suitable language-Teaching resources off the Internet.