Conceptions of (teaching) orality in the Fortaleza Reference Curriculum Document – ​​DCRFor

Abstract

This article analyzes the concept of orality in the Fortaleza Reference Curriculum Document (DCRFor), focusing on the Portuguese language component in the final years of elementary school. Theoretically, the reflection is based on the understanding that orality is a multisemiotic discursive practice, which should be taught in educational programs aimed at the linguistic and civic education of students. The analytical focus falls more precisely on Volume 3: Languages, which provides guidelines on the Portuguese language curriculum component for the final years of elementary school. Based on this excerpt, we refer to the passages that deal with the teaching of oral practices. The research, which is qualitative and documentary in nature, seeks to understand how orality is addressed in the document, investigating conceptions of language, methodological proposals, oral genres covered, and evaluative perspectives. It is based on the assumption that the teaching of orality should consider its multiple communicative, social, and cultural functions, going beyond the reproduction of formal and monological patterns. The analysis of the DCRFor reveals important advances in the valorization of orality as a significant social practice and as a legitimate object of teaching, articulated with everyday discursive practices and the civic education of students. The document recognizes the diversity of oral genres and proposes more interactive and dialogical practices, such as debates, interviews, seminars, and presentations, indicating a paradigm shift in the treatment of orality. However, despite conceptual advances, there are gaps in the didactic-pedagogical details, especially regarding the progression of skills throughout the school years, the systematization of content, and the articulation with local cultural manifestations, such as conversation circles, soirées, and cordel literature. In this sense, the study concludes that the DCRFor offers a solid conceptual basis, aligned with the perspectives of multiliteracy and genre-based teaching, but requires greater didactic depth, sociocultural contextualization, and investment in teacher training so that orality can truly occupy a central place in the Portuguese language curriculum. The consolidation of this axis requires educational policies that value diversity and promote integrative and critical pedagogical practices.