Evaluation toll for Libras (Brazilian sign language) expression for deaf students in basic education (scholarship from kindergarten up to high school): development and application

Abstract

The school development of deaf students largely depends on his mastery of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). However, Libras is not routinely developed in the family environment, and this mastery needs to be achieved mainly in the school environment, in which it is expected that the deaf student finds peers and interact through such language. Therefore, it resembles the development of orality of hearing children, since it is the dialogical practices that the development of language is promoted. However, the school environment has little tradition on working with the development of oral language / sign language, usually focusing on activities with written language as its goal. Regarding the deaf student, little is discussed about practices that encourage the development of Libras at school. The bilingual teacher focuses his work on teaching Portuguese as a second language, working with Libras, but does not always know how to promote the development of such language. The debate on the relevance of oral practices for the development of the subject as a whole led to the idea of employing this same proposal to deaf students. Libras teaching is even more crucial for deaf children than orality teaching for hearing children, since the acquisition of Libras usually occurs only in the educational space. In post-doctorate stage, founded by FAPESP and CNP in 2017, we developed the first version of an "evaluation tool for Catalan Sign Language expression" (IAELS) alongside with researchers with from the University of Barcelona. As the means to advance on the investigation, in this project we intend to translate and adapt IAELS to Libras, with the intent to to promote the work with signs language in the school spaces that attend deaf students, aiming their development and improvement. Afterwords we will apply the IAELS-Libras in deaf students in all levels of basic education ((scholarship from Kindergarten up to High School) seeking to analyze the tool's adequation for Libras' characteristics and the needs of bilingual teachers for deaf for the improvement of teaching practices and evaluation of that language in the school environment. We intent to elaborate a "guide of application and analysis" of the tool as well for teachers of deaf students so can use the tool autonomously. (AU)