Linguistic perceptions and practices of students in a Paraguayan border school

Abstract

The ideal premise of a reading mediation process is dialogue. The project “Experiencing Latin American Books in the Triple Frontier”, while restoring libraries and developing reading mediation of literature in the first grades of schools from the tri-border area (Brazil/Paraguay/Argentina), faces the challenge of proposing literary discussions among individuals from different backgrounds. In this manner, this empirical and analytical article aims to reflect upon the linguistic practices and perceptions of students from the fifth grade of a school from Ciudad del Este, associated with the aforementioned project, since, from its start, the emergence of conflicts called for a recognition of a unique sociolinguistic situation. Therefore, the development of the present article consists, firstly, on a debate of the linguistic and educational policies in Paraguay, questioning its proposal for a bilingual education, and, later, relate them to the experience that was developed on the said project. The research, interpretative and qualitative, focuses on an established interlocution methodology and reveals the stalemates associated with the multilingual scenario of that school.