Teacher education in PLE/PLA

integrating extension projects

Abstract

This article aims to describe the assimilation of three university extension projects developed by the Linguistic-Cultural Program for International Students (PLEI) of the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). The university extension is one of the pillars responsible for carrying out the actions of this program. The activities of these projects are planned and conducted to teach Brazilian Portuguese language to foreign students, which involve a continuous process of training the undergraduate students — teachers of the program. Despite having distincts configurations, the three projects complement each other, functioning as a tripod to develop the program’s goals. The first project seeks to offer Portuguese language courses to teach foreign students from different countries. The two other projects supply the necessities of the first one by focusing on teaching cultural aspects (Ferrarezi Jr., 2010) and on the production of pedagogical materials that help not only the undergraduate students in their classes but also to assist the foreigner in acquiring the necessary communicative competence (Leffa, 2007). From the methodological point of view, this article contemplates: a) explanation of how the projects function, and b) qualitative analysis of strategies that relate the process of learning with the academic environment and real life. This methodology is based on experiences resulting from the implementation of the three university extended projects. As a result, it is observed that the integration of the three projects provides undergraduate students a more comprehensive teaching training, since such students: a) reflect on their pedagogical practice, b) plan and execute collaborative actions which includes, for example, the preparation of the material to be used in the classes, and c) recognize the inseparable relationship between language and culture, which directly affects the training of this student for future professional demands.