ENEM preparation in popular preparatory courses for university entry examinations: the knowledge required for the Spanish exam

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to analyze Spanish exams for the National High School Examinations (ENEM) to improve the planning and production of pedagogical materials for Spanish classes at Popular Preparatory Courses for University Entry Examinations. Such courses aim to enable students from all walks of life to access higher education. The reflection presented in this paper on Popular Preparatory Courses for University Entry Examinations was based on the Freirian assumptions regarding Popular Education (Freire, 2017). These assumptions were then related to the Bakhtinian concept of dialogism and the intrinsic relations that exist between language and life. The theoretical pedagogical assumptions related to language capacities (Dolz; Schneuwly, 2004), were used as a theoretical basis and a methodological framework for the analysis of the Spanish exams. The results suggested a need for elaborating teaching materials that aim to raise awareness to social and civil duties as well as to prepare students to become readers that can both use their world knowledge in and understand the context of production of the texts they are reading. After all, readers that can put their world knowledge into action and have a better understanding of the locus of the texts they read are more successful in answering exam questions.

Keywords:
popular preparatory courses for university entry examinations; Spanish language; ENEM (National High School Examination)