Translation as a communicative, intercultural, and multiliteracy-based practice in the teaching of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL)

Abstract

This article discusses the role of translation in the teaching of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL), understanding it as a communicative, intercultural and multiliteracies practice. It focuses on the pedagogical possibilities of translation in the context of PFL, especially in its articulation with communicative and intercultural approaches. The study is grounded in authors such as Almeida Filho (1998; 2005), Kramsch (1998), Byram (1997), Bassnett and Lefevere (1990), Rojo (2009; 2012), and Widdowson (1990), whose discussions contribute to understanding translation as a discursive, cultural and semiotic mediation process in language teaching. The objective is to analyze how translation practices may contribute to the development of communicative competence, linguistic awareness and intercultural competence among learners. Methodologically, the research is a documental research, characterized as qualitative and theoretical-analytical, based on bibliographic review and on the documentary analysis of three PFL textbooks: Bem-vindo! (Ponce; Burim; Florissi, 2009), Novo Avenida Brasil (Lima Eberleine et al., 2008), and SAMBA! (Ferraz; Pinheiro, 2020). The analysis showed that, although the materials adopt communicative proposals, homogeneous and simplified representations of Brazilian culture still predominate, limiting the expansion of learners’ intercultural competence. The results indicate that translation, in its interlingual, intralingual and intersemiotic modalities, promotes critical reflection on language and culture, expands multiliteracies practices and strengthens learners’ active participation in the construction of meaning in Portuguese.