Atividades de navegação on-line sugeridas em material didático de espanhol: pertinência versus modismo

Abstract

The use of computers is a reality in the contemporary world and is present in several fields of professional activities, including educational environments. For the investigation hereby proposed, we have analyzed three Spanish as a Foreign Language course book series, published from 2001 to 2005 containing activities for online navigation with the presumed goal of leading the student to an immersion process in different Spanish-speaking countries and cultures, by using the Internet. Our research aimed at identifying, in the course books studied, coherence relationships and implications among the following aspects: the technical qualities of the corpus of sites suggested for online tasks, cultural themes developed in the lessons and the level of learning expected in the course books. As a basic methodological tool, we drew comparative charts containing the online navigation activities suggested by the three course books selected and analyzed them considering as reference: (i) a framework for the analysis of the technical qualities of the sites compiled, based on the studies supported by Gibaldi (2003), Alexander and Tate (1999), Tomaél et al. (2004), Ambre et al. (1999), Lázaro (2001), Henderson (2005), Blattmann and Fragoso (2003), Rodrigues (2000) and Araújo (2003); and (ii) a synoptic chart reflecting the Global Assessment Scale and Reference Chart of learning based on the guidelines presented in the Common European Framework of Reference for Foreign Languages (2001). The analyses developed were qualitative and interpretative in nature and suggest that although the online navigation activities proposed were, in gerenal terms, coherent with the cultural themes discussed in each lesson, they do not match the linguistic level expected from the students. In addition to that, the activities indicated in the course books studied do not stimulate the teacher to take on a critical posture while navigating in virtual contexts. The ability to evaluate sites critically must be developed by the teacher who is willing to incorporate online navigation activities in his or her classes; it is important for the teacher to know the basic criteria to consider while analyzing sites and selecting possible online activities for his students in order to be able to use the technology available critically and meaningfully. The thoughtful use of technology by the teacher may contribute to the learning process; otherwise, it may be reduced to the use of one more fashionable resource offered by the modern world.