Disciplinary and Vocational Discourses in Curriculum : A case study of the program Brazilian Portuguese as a Second Language from the University of Brasilia

Abstract

The purposes of this case study are to investigate the different discourses at play on the program Brazilian Portuguese as a Second Language from the University of Brasilia.

The study explores the characteristics of the program with respect to curricular discourses. It does so by employing the concepts of disciplinary and vocational discourse to analyze the curriculum as it appears in documents and in professors accounts. The assumption is that both discourses will be found on the documents and professors’ levels. This premiss is based on the fact that the program is connected to the academic world due to its linguistic base, as well as to the training of skills, and the labor world since one of its aims is to prepare teachers. The relation between these two discourses could be conflicting, and cause some tensions in the program. This thesis aims to investigate whether and how such tensions play out in the curricular documents and in the experiences of professors who teach courses in the program.

The main findings of this case study are that indeed both discourses are at play, but instead of a conflicting relation, they act in a complementary way, and integrated along the courses offered by the curriculum, despite that some minor incongruences have been found while contrasting the document and the professors’ levels.

Nevertheless, in order to have a better understanding of the issue, more research is needed in the field. This could clarify some inadequacies, regarding specially issues with the sampling both on the document and on the professors’ level.

Key words: Higher Education, Curricular Analysis, Disciplinary and Vocational Discourses, Brazil, University of Brasilia, Brazilian Portuguese as a Second Language