LEXICON AND TEACHING: REFLECTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEXICAL COMPETENCE BASED ON THE 9TH-GRADE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE TEXTBOOK

Abstract

The lexicon of a language presents itself as a rich repository (Biderman, 1998), which we draw upon for various communicative situations. This implies, in the context of teaching this important component, favoring diverse and meaningful experiences regarding the formation of a lexical repertoire. In view of this, this work aims to analyze the treatment of the lexicon in the Portuguese Language textbook from the Araribá Conecta – Portuguese collection, 9th grade, identifying how the manual addresses three axes: (i) the lexicon and word formation, (ii) the lexicon and semantic relations, and (iii) the lexicon and contextual relations, as proposed by Cavalcante (2017), paying attention to the aspects underlying the formation of the various situations of lexical treatment. Regarding the theories, the research is based on Cavalcante (2017), Antunes (2012), Basílio (2004), Biderman (1998; 1996), Vilela (1997) and national curriculum documents. Finally, the analyses pointed to an advancement in the inclusion of the lexicon in different genres and in the valuing of semantic relations; however, this relationship is still reduced to the identification and classification of terms. Thus, studies that explore aspects that contribute to the formation of students' lexical competence are relevant.