LITERATURE TEACHING AT UNILA AND THE HUMANIZING CARACTER OF THE LITERARY TEXT

Abstract

This article, an excerpt from the doctoral thesis Literature in the classes of Portuguese and Spanish as an additional language in higher education at UNILA (2021), focuses on the use of literature in the teaching of Spanish and Portuguese as an Additional Language, which are compulsory subjects for undergraduate courses at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA). The objective was to verify the following: 1) Is literature present in the Additional Language (AL) classes at UNILA?; 2) If not, why haven't literary texts been used in AL classes?; 3) If so, how has literature been worked? To answer these questions, a field research was carried out with the application of a questionnaire to professors of AL at the university and supported by theorists who defend the humanizing character of literature, such as Cosson (2014), Candido (2004), Jover (2007) etc. The results point to the need of greater insertion of the literary text in AL classes and the lack of understanding by some teachers regarding the possible contribution of literature teaching not only in the AL teaching but also in the realization of the mission and purpose of UNILA.