Pinterest's contributions to learning German as a foreign language

• Grant number: 19/27134-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2020
• End date: July 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Modern Foreign Languages
• Principal Investigator: Cibele Cecílio de Faria Rozenfeld
• Grantee: Ana Lívia Catoia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The spread of the internet has the consequence of the necessity of continuous studies about the use of technology, including in the educational sphere, especially considering that Digital Information and Communication Technologies (hereafter TDICs) can represent important tools in the process of knowledge building. In this sense, the insertion of these technologies in academic environments, inside and outside the classroom, gives rise to studies that seek to understand the potential and limits of tools available to students. In the field of language teaching and learning, one of these tools is Pinterest, the focus of this project. Originally not designed for study practices, the application has become very popular between internet users, and is incorporated into a variety of social practices, including in the educational field. Thus, based on studies on Multilaments (Rojo 2012), language teaching methodologies (Leffa, 2005; Vieira-Abrahão, 2015) and also on the concept of ubiquitous learning (Santaella, 2014), the present research aims to analyze the potential and limitations that the Pinterest app offers for learning German as a foreign language. The research will be qualitative in nature and will use narrative research procedures to produce documentary material and analysis. It will be considered the experiences and reports of the researcher herself about the characteristics of the tool and the help and limitations it offers for learning German. To this end, the researcher will produce the documentary material in a field diary, which will include detailed descriptions of situations of use of the app for her learning the German language. The material will be analyzed considering the types of activities proposed, based on the premises of foreign language teaching approaches. (AU)