ORALITY IN THE EARLY YEARS OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION: WHAT DOES THE NATIONAL COMMON CURRICULAR BASE PROPOSE?

Abstract

This study investigates the prescriptions contained in the National Common Curricular Base (Base Nacional Comum Curricular- BNCC) regarding the systematization of orality in the early years of Elementary Education. To this end, we adopt a conception of language as interaction, drawing primarily on the theoretical frameworks of Marcuschi (2010) and Schneuwly and Dolz (2011). Through a qualitative documentary analysis, the data were organized according to the analytical category “Oral text production” and its subcategories, as proposed by Leal (2022a): (i) production of oral texts for different purposes, monitoring one’s own speech; (ii) attentive listening; (iii) reflections on interactional situations and planning of textual production; and (iv) evaluation of oral situations and produced texts as well as their conditions. The results reveal that the BNCC encompasses skills related to three of these subcategories: oral text production, attentive listening, and reflections on interactional situations, with the first being the most emphasized. “Attentive listening” received limited attention, especially in the literacy years (1st and 2nd grades). “Reflections on interactional situations” were only partially addressed, and no reference was found to the “evaluation of oral texts.” We conclude that orality still occupies a less privileged position in the BNCC section devoted to the early years of Elementary Education, which may negatively affect pedagogical practices, teacher education, and the development of teaching materials. Therefore, we advocate for the strengthening of this axis within the document, with greater diversity of genres and skills, recognizing it as a fundamental component of the teaching-learning process.