International migrant children and portuguese as a welcoming language

a proposal for multicultural thematic units based on storytelling

Abstract

With the recent wave of migration in Brazil, most public schools began to receive a large number of international migrant children whose native language is not Portuguese. In this sense, the role of learning Portuguese as a Welcoming Language (PWL) is discussed with a view to promoting the integration of these students in classrooms and society. Given this scenario, this work proposes guidelines for the construction of Didactic Units and presents examples of thematic units based on a multicultural perspective organized around two children's stories - "The Name Jar" and "O Pato Poliglota" - for children of different age groups from a municipal school in Londrina/PR. An interview was also conducted with a teacher who works in that context to address the needs experienced in the classroom in the material developed. This is qualitative research of a propositional nature about PWL concepts, the use of children's literature as an organizing axis of thematic units, and notions of multiculturalism and multilingualism in didactic activities. The results indicate the presence of welcoming features through Portuguese in the thematic units developed from the sensitive listening of classroom realities and a multicultural perspective that integrates language and culture, to promote the emancipation of international migrant children as subjects of rights, including the linguistic ones.